Anchor
by BlueIceFire1517
Summary: She pulled it off for a year. She started a new life and became the best friend of Tony Stark. But when the world is threatened and her brother is compromised she is forced to return to the very same agency she swore she would never return to. When he learns about her past, everything that was once between the two begins to crumple. Will he except her past or abandon her? Tony/OC
1. Chapter 1

**I lost interest in my previous story and started this once. I just lost interest in the subject of and found interest in the Avengers =)**

**This is my very first Avengers story and will probably be my only one. Its a Tony/OC one. Don't get me wrong I LOVE Tony/Pepper, I really do, but obviously for the sake for this story they won't be ****together. This story is going to go hand in hand with the movie the only difference being that my OC will be placed in there. For example, the first chapter is the first scene with Tony in the movie, except all the Pepper lines will be my character. Now, it many be a little boring the beginning, but It'll get better, I promise.**

**I own nothing but my OC.**

**I apologize for any spelling errors a head of time. **

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"We're all good on this end. The rest is up to you," Tony said as he flew through New York in his metal suit.

"You disconnected the transmission lines? Are we off the grid?" Lex Brooks asked, wanting to make sure everything was perfect. Lex of course was short for Alexis. Tony had stuck with the nickname throughout the year she had been his right hand man- er, woman. She was his Assistant/Friend/ a lab partner of some sort. She graduated from MIT with a Masters Degree in Mechanical engineering. She helped Tony with his suit which fascinated her. Every chance he gave her to work with him on it she took without hesitation.

"Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy," Tony stated over the communication line.

"Well, assuming the arc reactor takes over and it actually works," Always the realist. There would be these points where Tony would think of completely outrages, yet brilliant ideas that seems so far stretched. Lex always threw her two-cents in there about the possibility of it failing, but he never listened. And when he proved her wrong he didn't fail to point it out. The two complimented each other. She kept him stable.

Tony had to force himself not to roll his eyes. This was all her idea, her work. She told him that if he allowed her, she could make Stark Tower run on nothing but clean self- sustaining energy. And she did. She was the smartest woman he knew, of course it would work. "I assume. Light her up."

Lex happily flipped the switch. "How does it look?"

"Like Christmas, but with more me." Tony heard her chuckle on the other end. It was true though. It had his name plastered on it.

"We've got to go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I'm in DC tomorrow, I'm working on the zoning for the next three buildings." Lex switched into Assistant mode thinking about what the fastest and most efficient way of getting this out there.

"Lex, you're killing me. Enjoy the moment, will ya?" Tony approached the tower and lowered himself onto his own personal landing pad which Lex helped him build. The communication line was dropped as he began to walk down the path in which he created to strip him of his Iron Man suit. He lost his helmet and then it began to work its way down.

As he continued down the path J.A.R.V.I.S spoke up through the com system. "Sir, Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. is on the line." Lex's face went from a bright smile to a concerned and wary look. What did he want? Did he want Tony or was it her he wanted? Maybe both?

Great, just what he needed. To say the least S.H.I.E.L.D. was not his favorite organization. Sure he could put up with them, but he preferred not to."I'm not in. I'm actually out."

"Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting," J.A.R.V.I.S told him regretfully. She could only hear J.A.R.V.I.S.'s side of the conversation throughout the com system that ran through Tony's loft and by the sound of it Tony wanted Coulson here just as much as she did.

"Grow a spine J.A.R.V.I.S. I got a date," Well, not really. He wished it was. Lex was beautiful and smart and funny… almost a female version of him, but not quite.

As Tony came inside he headed for Lex who was looking over the system grid. She composed herself before Tony could get a look at her face. "Levels are holding steady, I think."

"Of course they are. I was directly involved," He said arrogant yet playfully. He reached Lex and gave her his infamous smirk. "Which brings me to my next question; how does it feel to be a genius? All this, came from you."

Lex sighed, of course she was smart, but she was no genius. "No, all this came from that," Lex tapped the arc reactor that was glowing brightly in his chest.

"Give yourself some credit. Please," Tony hated when she did this. She was brilliant and yet she refused to take any credit for her work. "Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself 12% of the credit."

"12%?" She knew he was just toying with her now. She moved her dark brown hair out of her blue eyes as she walked away from Tony.

"An argument can be made for 15," If she didn't want to take the credit then he would make her want it. He followed her to the table that held champaign in celebration of their success.

"12%? My baby?" The first part she wasn't so sure about, but the second part was true. All her free time and energy went into Stark Tower. She needed something to keep her focused and keep her mind off her past and obsessing over the mechanics of the Iron Man suit and Stark Tower were her ways of doing it.

"Well, I did do all the heavy lifting. Literally, I lifted the heavy things. And, sorry, but the security snafu? That was on you."

"Oh?"

Tony could see the look she was giving him and decided to change the subject. He grabbed the champaign and poured two glasses; one for her and one for him. "Im going to pay for that comment about percentages in some subtle way later, aren't I?"

"Not gonna be that subtle," She smirked as she took a sip of the expensive golden liquid. "I'm just saying that if your suit suddenly shoots silly string instead of lasers don't be surprised."

"Tell you what, the next building is going to say Brooks on the tower," He said trying to make it up to her.

"On the lease," Lex insisted. Tony cringed playfully.

"Eh, I'll have to get back to you on that one," Honestly he just might do it. She was after all his best friend at the moment. Over the past year no one had given him more support, put up with as much shit and done as much as she had. Natalie or Natasha, whichever it was, had picked Lex out of all people to be his assistant. She said the two would blend well and give Tony a 'lab playmate'. He was wary at first. Being an assistant was no MIT graduate's dream job, he knew that, but apparently to being _his _assistant was. He could see that being around all the futurist technology would be an opportunity most graduates would dream about. Of course it had been a little over ten years since she graduated from the school and he wondered what she did for those past year. All she said was that she worked with her brother, nothing more, nothing less. In turn though, it all worked out for the best and they became friends through sarcastic batter and their love of engineering and science.

"Sir, the telephone. I'm afraid my protocols are being over ridden," J.A.R.V.I.S managed to warn before the sound of Agent Couslon's voice filled the room.

"Mr. Stark, we need to talk," The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent stated. Tony rolled his eyes, irritated by the man's voice. Lex force herself to stay composed and keep her anxiety from being too obvious.

Tony picked up the translucent mobile phone and spoke into it, "You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark. Please leave a message-" Lex laughed at the uncooperative billionaire. She loved his sense of humor.

"This is urgent," Coulson interrupted.

"Then leave it urgently," Tony tried his best to get the point across that he wanted nothing to do with S.H.I.E.L.D., but they were persistent. As soon as Tony finished speaking the doors to the elevator opened and they were met with the face of Agent Phil Coulson who still had his phone up to his ear. The government agent immediately made eye contact with the familiar face of Alexis Brooks. It had been a year since he had see the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. She gave him a wary look, not because she didn't like him, because as a matter of fact she was good friends with the man, but because if he let slip that she used to worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. to Tony, she would be screwed. Tony didn't know and she didn't want him to know. She left S.H.I.E.L.D., wanting to start fresh and she did.

"Security breach. Its on you," Tony said, blaming Lex immediately.

"Mr. Stark," Coulson adressed Tony.

"Phil, come on in." Lex felt the need to act kindly to the man. He was her former boss after all. Plus, he was a nice guy. Just because she was no longer a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent didn't mean she couldn't know a few in her new life.

"_Phil_?" Why were they so cosy with each other? Tony didn't like it.

"I can't stay," Phil stated as he was greeted by the two as they approached him, champaign in hand. Phil looked over Alexis. It was strange seeing her in such casual clothing. Usually it was her black S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform, now it was skinny jeans and a tight black v-neck, both of which hugged her athletic figure.

"His first name is 'Agent'," Tony pointed a finger at Phil as he came up next to Lex. Lex chuckled at his comment. To think that if he had known her when she worked alongside Phil he would have said the same thing about her.

"We're celebrating. Come in." Tony still didn't like them being so friendly with each other. He wished he could say it was because of a professional matter, but it wasn't.

"Which is why he can't stay," Again, Tony making it clear he didn't want the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent here. Lex sent him a look, telling him to be nice. He plastered a fake cheesy smile on his face for a few brief seconds.

Agent Coulson ignored Tony's clear dislike of him being there and continued on with the task he was sent to do. "We need you to look over this as soon as possible," Agent Coulson went to hand Tony the device that contained all the information, but Tony didn't reach out to take it.

"I don't like being handed things," Tony shook his head, patronizing the agent.

"That's fine because I love to be handed things. So, lets trade," With that Lex took the device in one hand and handed Agent Coulson her glass of champaign. Then she turned to Tony, taking his glass and handing him the device. "Thank you," she said as she took a drink of his champaign. He gave her a look that practically said, 'Seriously?'.

He signed defeatedly, but he still aimed to give the agent a hard time. "Official consulting hours are from between 8 and 5 every other Thursday."

"This isn't a consultation," he stated simply.

"Is this about the Avengers?" Lex wanted to slap herself after the slip. Both men looked at her. "Which I know nothing about."

"Psh, The Avengers initiative was scrapped, I thought." Tony said walking away towards his computers. "And I didn't even qualify," Tony turned back towards them, now walking backwards.

"I didn't know that either." She earned a smile from Phil.

"Yeah, I'm apparently volatile, self-obsessed, don't play well with others," He stated matter of factly. He reached his computer, but didn't open the files right away.

"That I did know." Lex smiled as she looked between both men.

"This isn't about personality profiles anymore," the government agent said, not only informing Tony, but also Lex. As Tony looked at the format of the device, not yet opening it, Lex turned to Phil as he spoke in a hushed tone to her, trying to make sure the billionaire didn't overhear. "Fury needs you back."

"No way. Not gonna happen," Lex shot back quickly. She told Fury once she left she was gone, she wasn't going back.

"What are you two gossiping about?" Tony asked, facing them. Again this whole buddy-buddy thing between them was getting under his skin. What was so secretive that they had to whisper? Lets be honest, he would find out eventually.

"Oh, nothing. I was just letting her know that Agent Barton had been compromised at the early hours of this morning. He was one of our best." This information hit Lex like a thousand pound brick. Clint was compromised? What happened? Is he ok? He was all she had left.

"Whatever. Ms. Brooks, got a second?" Tony signaled her over. Lex composed herself and walked over to Tony. She saw Tony being to open the files of information, but she grabbed his hand to stop him, bringing his attention to her. She knew what was on that device and it was everything that she tried to hide from Tony. She had grown extremely fond of him and hoped to put the secret revealing back a little further. At least till she was out of the room.

"You know, I thought we we're having a moment," He joked.

"I was having 12% of a moment," Tony smirked and shook his head. "This seems pretty serious. Phil's pretty shaken."

"How would you know it is… Why is he 'Phil'?" Tony was being completely serious and Lex knew it, but she still tried to joke around with it.

"Is someone jealous?" She teased.

"I'm Tony Stark, I don't get jealous." Well, it was true, most of the time. Most of the time except now and whenever Lex had a date with someone that wasn't him.

"Well, Mr. Stark, I'm going to take the jet to DC tonight. You have a lot of homework,"

"What if I didn't?" Tony liked her company. He didn't want her to leave.

"But you do, so Phil will give me a lift to the airport," She looked over at Agent Couslon and he nodded. "And I'll seen you when I get back." She gave him a stern look, implying that was the end of the conversation. "Now get to work."

Tony watched her as she walked back to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, grabbing her sneakers before she entered the elevator. "Lex!" He shouted before the doors began to shut. "Fly safe," He was just able to catch her smile before the door closed.

With them gone he finally opened the files that 'Phil' had given to him. At first the small blue glowing cube caught his eye, but then it was caught by one of the action scene of one of the so called Avenger. It was of a woman. Her codename was 'Ace'. She was faced with a 5 on 1 situation, but she took all of the opposing forces out with ease. The next clip was of with her with a bow and arrow in her hand. Her aim was incredible, just like the man who's profile was next to her's. It was Alexis. No doubt abut it, but her last name didn't read Brooks, it read Barton. Barton? Where had he heard that name before? And then it hit him.

Agent Coulson had mentioned the name. An Agent by the name of Barton had been compromised, but he said 'he' not 'she'. It wasn't Alexis he had been talking about, but the man who's profile that was located next to her's; Clint Barton. Her brother.

Tony opened her file and began to read. Read all that she had hid from him. By the time he finished he felt betrayed, lied to, made a fool of. She hid all of this from him. She hid the fact that she was an _assassin _for god sake. She, her brother and Agent Romanoff were the best there was. It made sense that her codename was Ace. Ace meaning to be the best, and she was.

Tony just stared at the live action footage. This girl came into his life and became one of the people he could not live without. He shared everything with her. She became his anchor.

Now he wanted nothing to do with her.

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**I hope you liked it. Its a work in progress, like every story is. I'd love to hear what you all though of it so feel free to review or message me. =)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you guys so much for the favorites and alerts! And thank you _Audrey Whyte_ for the review!**

**Usually my chapters aren't this long. I couldn't find a break in the ****story (i'm already ahead) for a chapter any sooner then I did so that's why its so long.**

**I hope you guys like this one. Enjoy =)**

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As soon as the elevator doors closed Lex turned and faced Phil. "What happened to Clint? Is he okay?"

Lex had the same level of security clearance as her brother so Phil was free to spill. "Early this morning about 3 or 4 the Tesseract started acting up, misbehaving. As you know the Tesseract is a gate or portal of some sort to other worlds. The portal opened and Thor's brother came through, Loki. Your brother tried to fight him off, but Loki used some sort of mind control over him," Phil paused, taking a glance at the younger Barton. "Clint is perfectly fine physically, but as far as we know he's playing for the other team so he's a threat. That's why we needed you back. Not only did Fury mark you as an Avenger, but also you're the only one that can fill the gap that Clint left in the Agency."

"…Ok, I'm in," She had no choice, she had to go back. She knew this would happen as much as she denied it. She knew that her fresh start wouldn't last for long. And now that Tony knew, any chance of going back to that life was gone. She knew she wouldn't be able to face him when the time came.

"Good. Once we get on the jet I'll give you the same files I gave Stark. It has everything you need to know when it comes to what we're up against," With that, the two stepped out of the elevator on the first floor. 25 minutes laterthey were walking up to the quinjet.

Once Lex stepped inside she noticed there was someone already there. He turned and faced them and greeted them with a polite smile. "I'm guessing you're Agent Phil Couslon?" Phil nodded, a smile plastered on his face. The well muscled man turned and faced Lex. "And you are?" Phil went to answer for her, but she spit it out first.

"Agent Alexis Barton. Nice to you meet you, Captain," He gave her a genuine smile and shook her hand, then shook Phil's. Phil looked like a kid in a candy store, he couldn't have looked more excited.

"Like wise."

During the rest of the flight most communication between the three was small talk. Most time Steve and Lex where talking about and looking over the files they had received from Coulson. Lex internally cringed several times reading through her file. Tony was going to hate her. After she graduated and got her Masters Degree her brother brought her into S.H.I.E.L.D.. If it wasn't for that she probably would have a PhD by now. From there on she trained with her brother and later Natasha Romanoff once she became a part of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Both her and her brother had taken up archery when they were young and became expert marksmen. Their combat skills were some of the best in the agency. After a little over 10 years with S.H.I. . she left the agency a year ago after the outcome of a mission left her broken in many to many ways to fix. Natasha was the one who hooked her up with the job with Tony. She figured it would be the best place for her, seeing that she could keep close to the action, but not be directly involved in it.

After a while Steve spoke up. "So, this Dr. Banner was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?"

"A lot of people were," Phil said, walking towards him. "You were the world's first super hero."

"Dr. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erkine's original formula," Lex chimed in as she looked up from the files and at Steve. He was extremely good looking for a man that had been on ice for nearly 70 years.

"Didn't really go his way, did it?"

"Not so much," This time it was Coulson who answered. "When he's not that thing, though, that guys like a Stephen Hawkings." Steve looked at Lex with a confused expression.

Lex chuckled. "He's like a really smart person." Steve nodded in understanding. After that Lex turned back to the information in front of her. Coulson started an embarrassing conversation with Steve, which she couldn't help but laugh at, as they stood by the mouth of the cockpit. She smiled as she remembered when her brother had taught her how to fly one of these jets.

"I just hope I'm the man for the job," She heard Steve state modestly.

"Oh, you are. Absolutely," Coulson said quickly. "We made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input," he said proudly, a smile firmly planted on his face. Lex looked up at the two men as their conversation went on.

"The uniform? Aren't the stars and stripes a little old-fashion?" Steve looked at Lex for this one.

"With everything that has happened and is about to happen," Lex lifted up the device holding all the most recent events, "I think people might just need a little old-fashion, Cap."

**XXX**

"Get Agent Barton and the Captain's gear," Coulson ordered. They had just landed on the aircraft carrier that S.H.I.E.L.D. was currently using as their headquarters. The crew did as Coulson asked and grabbed their belongs as the stepped off the jet.

Lex smiled as she saw a familiar face approach. Her smile was returned by the red haired woman. "Well look what the cat dragged back to S.H.I.E.L.D.,"

"It's good to see you to, Agent Romanoff," Lex embraced the Russian as she got closer. "It's been way to long."

"I know! Last time I saw you was almost a year ago. You and Tony were flirting and bonding over his Iron Man suit," The red head teased.

"We weren't flirting!"

"If that's not flirting then I don't know what is," Natasha always loved to tease Lex, she was like a younger sister to her. There was this chemistry between Tony and Lex that was made obvious whenever the two were in the same room. Maybe Lex couldn't see it and maybe Tony couldn't either, but she certainly could.

"Anyways…," Lex said, trying to change the subject, "Agent Romanoff, Captain Rodgers," Lex introduced her two teammates.

"Ma'am," Steve greeted her like the solider he was.

"Hi," Was all that Natasha said before switching her attention to Coulson. "They need you on the bridge. They're starting the face-trace."

"See you there," Coulson nodding and headed to where he was needed.

With Coulson gone the three began to walk, making conversation. "It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson would swoon," Natasha smirked as she heard the laughter of Lex next to her.

"Oh he did. You should have see him on the way here," Lex continued to laugh. "Sorry 'bout that, Cap."

"Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?" Natasha continued at her fellow agent's expense.

"Trading cards?" The Captain raised an eyebrow in question.

"They're vintage. He's very proud," Lex informed him with a smile.

Up ahead of them they saw a man stumbling around, looking lost. "Dr. Banner," Steve called, grabbing the scientist's attention. He had recognized him from his profile. Dr. Banner walked over to the group and stuck out his hand for Steve to shake.

"Yeah, hi," Dr. Banner looked over Steve. "They told me you'd be coming," He then turned to Lex. "Alexis Barton i'm guessing," he shook her hand as well.

"You guessed right. It's a pleasure to meet you," Lex was happy to meet new scientists, especially one of Bruce Banner's caliber.

"Word is, you can find the cube," Steve stated.

"Is that the only world on me?" Bruce fittled with his hands anxiously.

"The only word we care about," Lex answered for both her and Steve. She looked at Steve who gave her a nod.

"It must be strange for you, all of this." Bruce looked at Steve and motioned to all the technology around him.

"Well, this is actually kinda familiar," Steve, being a solider and all, just felt as if this was a more modernized version of what he was used to.

"You guys might want to step inside in a minute," Natasha interrupted. "It's gonna get a little hard to breath." Then came the rushing water and the robust sound of moving metal and equipment. Both men had an obvious look of a mixture of confusion, curiosity and fascination on their faces.

"Is this a submarine?" Captain Rodger and Bruce headed to the edge of the vessel. Lex turned to Natasha with a look of amusement on her face. She remembered her first time witnessing the flight of this amazing machine. She was absolutely amazed by the mechanics put into it.

"Really? They want me in a submerged, pressurized, metal container?" Bruce's voice laced with humor. As they finally reached the edge, they saw the turbines surface and start up. They quickly realized this was no submarine. The vessel began to rise out of the water, causing the two men to step back from the edge, leaving Bruce looking like he was on the brink of laughter. "No, no. This is much worse."

As the crew scurried to get all of the equipment secured to the deck, the four Avengers headed inside. Natasha took the lead as Lex fell back with the two men. She turned to Bruce. "I adore you're work, Dr. Banner," He stopped her before she could continue.

"Please, call me Bruce."

"Well, I may just be a mechanical engineer, but-"

"You're an engineer? It seems like that's an understatement. By what I read about you, you seem extremely intelligent. Graduating from the top of your class at MIT and all. Maybe you could help me locate the Tesseract," He gave her a shy smile as they continued to walk.

"Wow. Well, it's nice to know that someone found more interest in my brain than my um… occupation." Lex was never recognized for her smarts usually. The only person who had seen her as an engineer and not an assassin was Tony, but that was only because he didn't know. In that way she was similar to Bruce it seemed. People focused more on their unique set of skills rather than their intelligence.

"If you can look past the other guy than I can look past the fact that you were an assassin." They both chuckled. It was nice to have someone who understood you to some degree. "Why did you leave anyway? Usually people who work for S.H.I.E.L.D. are in it till the end. You just up and left."

The smile on her face quickly disappeared, now replaced with a blank expression. It wasn't something she liked to talk about. As a matter of fact the whole situation still hurt to think about.

**XXX**

_The clouds were so dark they were almost black and rain threatened to fall, but yet here they were, in a cemetery on this dreadful day. Lex stood behind the crowd of people, all of whom were wearing black. She was wearing black as well; a black dress. What other color would you wear to a funeral? All she could do was stare at the closed casket that was the center of attention. _

_Taking a life was nothing new to her, but taking _his _life was probably the hardest thing she'd ever had to do. It was an order, an order in which she agreed with unfortunately. He betrayed the whole agency, but more so he betrayed her. Her best friend betrayed her. But with this life could she really expect anything less? This is why you can't have feelings in this business. You'll only get hurt. Lex had to learn that the hard way. As an unwanted tear rolled down her cheek she heard someone approach from behind._

_"How'd I know I'd find you here?" Lex turned around and was met by the only man in this world that she still trusted with her life. He was dressed in a black suit and tie, fitting in perfectly with everyone else. She had trusted the man that now lay in that casket 50 feet away too, but that was a choice that she didn't regret up until the day she took his life. "You shouldn't be here."_

_"Well, I do a lot of things I shouldn't do, don't I?" She turned away from him and back to the crowd of people. "I can't do this anymore, Clint," She had said this many times before, but now she was sure it would be the last. _

_"Lexi-" She cut him off before he could even start._

_"I'm serious, Clint," He came up next to her and she looked at him with her water brimmed eyes. "I killed my best friend. I killed Adam." _

_"He was a double agent, Lexi. He was playing for the other team," Clint wished he could have taken the shot instead of her, but he wasn't there when it happened. He was half way across the world. "You did your job. You did what you were told to do. He put himself S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hit list, not you."_

_"I know, but-" She choked. She couldn't finish that sentence. She couldn't hold it in anymore. She began to sob and Clint, without hesitation, took his little sister in his arms, trying his best to comfort her. _

_"It's gonna be okay, Lexi. I promise."_

**XXX**

From that day forward, Clint was only person she allowed herself to care about. Well, that was until she met Tony.

"It's a long story." She stated blatantly. She didn't want to talk about it.

"That's fine. Some other time then," Once again the scientist gave her a shy smile, but this one seemed a bit more comfortable. They continued to follow Natasha through a pair of automatic doors. Once the doors open they were hit with a burst of cool air and a wall of chatter. All you could see outside the glass wall was the ocean and the clouds that were now eye level. Man, she missed this place. As a matter of fact, she used to run this place when she wasn't on a mission and Fury wasn't around. She missed being one of the top dogs in S.H.I.E.L.D..

Steve and Bruce wandered away from her to take in the sight of the awe inspiring control room. "We're at level, sir," Agent Hill informed Fury. Lex remembered Hill from her time in S.H.I.E.L.D., but never thought she would make it to Fury's right hand alongside Coulson.

"Good. Let's vanish."

Lex turned her attention to the owner of the familiar voice, Director Nick Fury himself. He turned to face his half way completed team. His eyes, well, eye landed on Lex and his infamous sideways smirk appeared. "Agent Alexis Barton. Its nice to see you again. I wasn't sure you'd rise to the occasion."

"Well, Coulson knew the right buttons to push," She gave him a fake smile that she used many times while under the order of S.H.I.E.L.D..

"I'm assuming those buttons were the mentioning of the loss of the other Agent Barton," Fury wasn't one to feel bad for people, but he did feel for the younger sibling. He had worked with the Barton siblings on many, many occasions. He got to witness their bond first hand. They were the best team he had.

"You know I'd do anything for him," She stated simply. Fury outreached a hand for her to shake and she respectfully shook it.

"I know," Fury admired her loyalty. He shifted his attention to Steve and Bruce, "Gentlemen." Fury went to walk past Steve, but Steve stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill absent mindedly. He handed it to Fury and walked past him. Strange. Must have been some kind of inside thing between the two. Fury kept walking till he got to Bruce. "Doctor, thank you for coming," Fury stuck out his hand for Dr. Banner just as he did Lex.

Bruce hesitated for a moment before finally taking his hand. "Thanks for asking nicely." He looked at the ground and then back up at the man that dragged him back to a life he wished to have no part in. "So, how long am I staying?"

"Once we get out hands on the Tesseract, you're in the wind."

Bruce nodded as he walked a little past Fury. "Where are you with that?"

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the plant," Coulson announce. Lex walked over to one of the computer designated agents. They were going over everything and anything that had any link to Clint. Its perpose was to seek any possible locates as to where he might be. "Cell phones, laptops. If its connected to a satellite its eyes and ears for us."

Lex swiped side ways on the screen, seeing all of the locations they had cleared already. "That's still not going to find them in time," Natasha come up next to her and placed a comforting hand on the younger Barton's shoulder.

"You have to narrow your field," Dr. Banner declared. "How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"How many are there?" Fury crossed his arms.

"Call every lab you know. Tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays," Bruce tugged off his coat. "I'll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition," Bruce starting speaking in a language in which only Lex probably understood. "At least we could rule out a few places," Fury nodded. "Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

"Agent Romanoff, could you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please?" Natasha moved form her place next to Lex over to the doctor, walking past him to lead the way.

"You're gonna love it, Doc. We got all the toys." Natasha led Dr. Banner out of the room and Lex went to follow, figuring if she could do anything at the moment it would be helping Bruce.

"Alexis."

"Yes, sir?" Lex faced Fury, his expression unreadable. She was nearly through the door when she was forced to turn and walk back towards her once again boss.

"You're a smart girl," he stated stepping closer. "What would be something that Loki would have to get his hands on in order to aid his mission of using the Tesseract?"

Lex thought for a moment, letting all the possible elements and tools run throughout her mind. "You said that after Loki came through the portal it collapsed in on its self, right?" Fury nodded, leading Lex to confirm her theory. "Then that would probably be what his focus would be on; keeping it from collapsing."

"What would he need to do that?"

"Iridium. Its found in meteorites and forms anti-protons. It's a stabling agent and will keep the portal from collapsing in on its self. It's extremely rare and hard to get a hold of, but knowing Clint he'll be able to find it." She had urged S.H.I.E.L.D. to use it when they first gained the Tesseract, but they refused to listen, not believe the portal would ever open. That was another reason why she left S.H.I.E.L.D.; no matter how much you tried to help, if it wasn't what they wanted they ignored you. Now look whats happened.

"We got a hit. A 67% match. Wait, cross match 79%," This got all their attention.

"Location?" Coulson asked, walking up behind the agent to look over his shoulder at the screen.

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28 Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding," he replied. Before Fury could give an order Lex gave a few of her own.

"Cross reference Loki's location with any labs or facilities containing iridium. With any luck that's where Clint will be." Lex gave the order and turned back to Fury, now awaiting his.

"You heard her," Fury boomed, making sure everyone knew what to do. He then turned to Steve. "Captain, you're up, but you are not to leave until we can confirm or deny that there is any of that iridium in the area. If there is, you'll be giving Agent Barton here a ride. So both of you, suit up." With that the two where off.

If Lex was lucky her suit be in the same spot where she left it. She turned the corner and quickly walked down the hall to the first door on the left. She punched in the code and opened her eye wide to allow a retina scan that allowed entrance to the room. She smiled as the door opened. She entered the small dimly lit room. It was just as she left it. There where 3 units in there that held uniforms. The one to the left was Natasha's, which had been cleared out because she was already suited up. The next one, the one in the middle, was her's. Last, but not least, was Clint's on the right, looking just as she remembered it. She made her way across the room and came face to face with the uniform she swore she would never wear again. She looked next to the uniform and there was a black rectangular case. She opened it and was met by her favorite choice of weapon; her recurve bow with custom high end military grade arrows; the same as her brother's. She quickly changed into her gear and picked up the bow and her quiver of arrows, slinging the quiver across her back and holding the pristine bow in her hands. She slid her 3 finger glove on and her arm-guard. She didn't realize how much she missed her gear.

_"Agent Barton, do you copy?"_ She heard Coulson through her ear piece.

"I hear you, Coulson."

_"They found a location within a few miles of Loki's that contains that element you were talking about. Meet Natasha and Rodgers at the quinjet."_ Lex took a deep breath before she set off for the jet. This would be her first mission back, yet she wasn't if she was excited for it or just anxious to see her brother.

Exactly two minutes later she met up with Steve and Natasha at the entrance of the quinjet. Steve looked over Lex as she approached. When he first met her she was all casual, street attire. Now it was all black just like Natasha. Lex's suit actually looked exactly like Natasha's except there were no sleeves like her brother's. He assumed it was to make sure that it was certain that her marksmanship skills weren't restricted.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Natasha smiled at the returning agent.

"Hell yeah. I'm surprised it still fits." She chuckled. The skin tight suit was meant to fit perfectly and after a year of being hung up it still did. It felt like a second skin.

"You mind being my co-pilot on this one?" Natasha asked as she started to head into the jet.

"You sure its a good idea letting her fly that thing? I meant it has been a while." Steve joked. Lex looked at the super solider. He was cute and the fact that he just tried cracking a joke made him that much cuter. Unfortunately as much as she would love to give that a try, all her attention and heart was set on a certain genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.

"I promise, Rodgers, I won't let a pretty face like yours be the victim of any serious injuries," smiling, all three Avengers entered the quinjet and set off for their locations in Germany.

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**Next chapter is were some of the action starts (how much action I don't know). Tony is in the next chapter and so is Clint.**

**This chapter was probably the size of two of my normal chapters so I might hold off a couple days. (Maybe Saturday?)**

**I hope you guys liked it! Keep those reviews and alerts coming! (btw the more I get, the more I want to post a new chapter ^.^)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I know I said Saturday, but I also said more alerts, favorites and reviews I get the more I want to update and man did I quite a bit so thank you very much! I also got reviews from _MME_, _The. Dragon__.Singer_, and _Audrey Whyte_. It means a lot to me guys it really does. =D**

**Now this chapter is shorter than the others(normal size chapter for me). I hope you guys like it!**

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Thanks to the jet's speed they were there in no time. Lex was to be dropped off at the private facility where the iridium was located and was to meet back up with Rodgers at his location after she was done. She had her bow ready and loaded as she stalked around the perimeter. Nothing. Then again if her brother was the lead he wouldn't dare make anything obvious. Maybe she had gotten there before he did? She didn't know, but she didn't want to risk getting any closer and being spotted. So, she perched on the roof top of one of the building and waited.

No more the 30 seconds later she saw a guard drop off the corner, an arrow planted in his neck. He was here alright. Lex stayed in the shadows so she wouldn't be seen. She inched over to the edge as she saw Clint approach the security pad. She watched as he placed a device up to it and something started to materialize. It was spherical and it looked like an…eyeball? Well, that's one way to bypass a retina scan. The doors opened and he entered the building. Yes, the iridium was something she wanting to keep out of Loki's hand, but as of this moment, Lex was focused on getting her brother back so she waited for him to come back out. Once he did he handed the iridium to one of the men with him and that same man ran in the other direction with it. He probably wanted to get it to Loki as fast as possible. This was her chance.

Lex leaped off the building and onto Clint, rolling aside once she hit the ground. The ambush took Clint by surprise, but he recover quickly and braced himself for a fight. Both of their bows had been tossed to the side by her landing, but that was what she wanted. She didn't want to hurt him, just get him back.

Lex was met by his Tesseract colored eyes, but as she stood there, no less then 10 feet away, she watched the color flicker. They flickered back to their natural bright greyish-blue as he looked at his sister. "Lexi?" But with that they were gone, back to their glowing form. It had been the first time she had seen her brother in 6 months and this was certainly not how she hoped the reunion would go.

Clint came at her, almost knocking her off balance. He went in for a jab, but she blocked it. After that came a kick and another punch and another after that. She was on the defense. She couldn't hurt Clint, she just couldn't. Sure her and her brother had fought while training, but this was completely different. Finally a blow landed and caught her square in the jaw, the momentum spinning her so she land on her hands and knee. She got up as quick as possible, but Clint wasn't there. He had picked up his bow and was scaling up the side of the building with the help of a fire escape. She bolted after him to the roof. Once she reached the top she ran and tackled her brother, dangerously close to the edge. They rolled around, one trying to get control of the other. In the end, Clint bested her, hanging her head over the edge of the the concrete building, his bow crushing her throat.

"Clint…please," She gasped. "Fight it… I know you can."

His eyes started to flicker again. "Lexi…" His eyes stayed glowing, but she could see he was trying. His pained expression made her heart ache. "I'm sorry."

His expression turned cold again and he reached for his belt, grabbing a knife. He was going to take the finale blow and there was nothing she could do about it. He had her pinned, all his body weight keeping her pressed to the rooftop edge. When it came to the siblings they shared many of the same skills, but when it came to close combat Clint always had a slight edge on her.

She closed her eyes ready for the blow…but then she could breath and all of her brother's body weight was gone. She snapped her eyes open just long enough to see Iron Man throw her brother off the roof. "Tony!" She screamed in horror. He could've killed Clint. He threw him off a goddamn building. She rushed over to the edge wanting to see if her older sibling was ok. She saw Clint stumble out of the bush and make a brake for it. He looked fine. She then turned to face Iron Man, who was still hovering in the air.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, I aimed for the bushes. But then again my aim isn't as good as yours, is it, Agent Barton?" His voice dripping with hurt and betrayal. Tony landed in front of the now recovering woman. He could see a bruise starting to form on her jaw. If he hadn't already thrown Clint off the side of building he would have beat the shit out of him. No matter how pissed he was at Lex, nobody laid a finger on her.

"Tony…" She said his name once again, but this time it was lined with guilt. She didn't have to see his face behind the mask to know what it looked like. She could tell by the jab that he was none to happy with her.

"Don't even start, Alexis. I don't want to hear it," He said, cutting her off. "Rogers needs our help," He blasted off and landed where she had her fight with Clint on the ground. He picked up her bow and shot back up to her. He returned the bow and she slung it across her back with her arrows. "Lets go," he wrapped a metal arm around her waist and shot through the sky. Any other time he would have enjoyed this, have her so close, but now he wanted to get as far away from her as possible.

The time it took them to get from the lab to Rodgers was brief, but awkward. You could cut the tension with a knife. A situation that would usually be full of sarcastic banter and conversation was now empty and uneasy. Once they nearly there, Tony started to blast 'Shoot to Thrill' by AC/DC.

Tony shot at Loki with his free hand, blasting him backwards. As soon as they landed Tony released Lex and pulled out all the weapons he had available to him in his Iron Man suit. Lex, seeing it was the only thing she could do, set her bow up and aimed right at Loki's chest, an explosive arrow tip ready to go. "Make your move reindeer games."

Loki raised his hands in defeat, his armor completely gone. "Good move."

Steve came up between the two as Loki's armor started to dissolve. Steve felt uncomfortable between Lex and Tony. The atmosphere was one of unspoken issues. "Mr. Stark." Steve then nodded at Lex.

"Captain."

**XXX**

Tony stood a few feet from Loki, his eyes focused on his 3 _teammates. _Lex and Natasha were flying the jet while Steve stood by the entrance chatting with the two. He heard the two women abruptly laugh at something the super solider had said. Was he flirting? With Lex? With his girl? No… Lex wasn't his. He was still trying to get past the fact that she never told him about her history with S.H.I.E.L.D.. If he was so mad at her then why was his chest tightening at the sight of Captain America and Lex together? This girl had his emotions going in too many different directions.

Steve moved away from the cockpit and towards Tony. Tony now had a good view of Lex. Damn that uniform tight… He was forced to look away from his so called best friend and at Steve as he came up next to him. "I don't like it."

"What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" Tony asked, uninterested in the Captain's company.

"I don't remember it being that easy," Steve looked over his shoulder at the god of mischief. "This guy packs a wallop."

"Still, you are pretty spry for an older fellow." Steve glared at him, but he continued. "What's your thing, Polities?

"What?"

"It's like calisthenics," Tony briefly paused, taking a glance at Lex. "You might have missed a couple of things while doing time as a Capsicle." Tony could tell the soldier wasn't appreciating his comments, but he could care less.

"Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."

"Yeah, there's a lot of things that Furry doesn't tell you."

Thunder erupted over head of jet, shaking it from the multitude of sound waves. "Where's this coming from?" Natasha questioned.

"Shit, I hate flying in storms." Lex commented. Most pilots did, but each of them managed to muster through them. It really wasn't a big deal, but with all the most recant events, Lex knew something was bound to go wrong.

Loki flinched at the sounds and warily looked out of the glass. "What's the matter? Are you scared of a little thunder?" Steve said, patronizing the god.

"I'm not overly found of what follows." Steve and Tony passed a cautious looked between them. Not 10 sends later there was a pound _thud _on the roof of the jet. The whole het shook, causingSteve to lose his balance. Tony grabbed his Iron Man helmet and placed it on. Lex and Natasha focused on keeping the jet steady. Lex heard the jet hatch opened and looked over her shoulder. "What are you doing?" She heard Rodgers yell. Once the hatch had full opened the cause of all this entered the jet uninvited. He was a freakish big man with long blond hair, huge muscles and a…hammer? His armor made it clear that he was not from anywhere local. Tony tried to send him back to where he came from with a blast from his suit, by the charge took to long and the man slammed his hammer into Tony's chest. Tony went flying into Steve near the cockpit. The man grabbed Loki by the throat and pulled him up, them took a lead out of the jet.

"Now there's that guy." Tony walked to the open hatch while Captain America recovered.

"Tony, don't." Lex's voice was filled with worry, hoping that Tony would be sensible for once, which was unlikely. She had finally realized who this man was and knew the damage he could do. Clint had be stationed in New Mexico when he first appeared and from what he had told her, even without his godly powers this his man was a force to be reckoned with.

"Another Asgardian?" Natasha questioned. Lex nodded her head in confirmation.

"That guys a friendly?" Steve found that hard to believe at the moment.

"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him the Tesseract is lost." Tony continued on his way to the edge of the jet's opening.

"Tony, you don't know what you're up against!" Lex continued to pled with the billionaire.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!"

"I have a plan. Attack." Then he shot off into the dark cloud covered sky.

"Goddamn it, Tony!" Lex huffed in frustration. She hated that he was a 'shoot first, ask questions later' kind of guy. It was going to get him killed.

Steve grabbed a parachute. "I'd sit this one out, Cap," Natasha suggested.

"I don't see how I can." Steve clipped the parachute's buckle around his waist.

"These guys come from legend. They're basically gods." Lex chimed in, her mind still a on certain pain in the ass billionaire.

"There's only one god ma'am." Steve had finished hooking himself to the parachute and grabbed his shield. "And i'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." Steve took off running and jumped after Tony.

"Great. Just fucking great." Lex muttered.

"What's got you so wound up?" Natasha flipped a few switches as they prepared to go back for the men they had just lost.

Lex sighed. "Tony… he didn't know. About all this, about S.H.I.E.L.D., about my past," She should have told him when she had the chance. Maybe he would have taken it better had it been her who told him. "He hasn't called me Lex since, its been either Alexis or Agent Barton. That bridge that took so long to build is gone. He won't ever trust me again. I'm not sure he'll even talk to me."

"You just have to give him some time-" Natasha tried to comfort her friend, but she was cut off.

"No. You don't know him like I do." Lex leaned back against her seat, closeting her eyes and taking a deep breath. "First I lost Clint, now Tony. The only two people that matter to me are gone…"

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**I know I said this story would follow the movie very closely, but some parts I'm going to change some things here and there. Some you many notice, some you may not.**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it!**

**Remember to keep those reviews coming! =P**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you guys for all the alerts and favorites! And thank you _The. Dragon__.Singer,_ _Xxdreamergirl95xX_, _Audrey Whyte,_ and _MME_ for the reviews!Also, thank _MME_ for ****catching that last name slip! I would have never noticed!**

**I hope you guys like the chapter! =D**

* * *

_"Well let me know if 'real power' want's a magazine or somethin'."_

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Bruce crossed his arms and looked around the table at the assembled team. Natasha sat on the right side of Lex and Steve was on the left. Distance wise, Steve was closer to Lex than Natasha was. Steve was more comfortable with Lex than the other members. He didn't know why, but she was easy going and easy to talk to. If he didn't understand something due to his lack of knowledge on the current trends, she gladly filled him in without judgment.

"Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?" All eyes fell on the Asgardian as Steve asked the vital question.

"He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard, nor any know world." Thor turned to face them. "He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

"An army…" Steve started.

"...from outer space." Lex finished.

"So, he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for." Bruce stated.

"Selvig?" Thor questioned.

"He's an astrophysicist. He's a friend."

"Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of our own." As Natasha spoke she looked over at Lex. Lex looked away and down at her folded hands on the table. She really wished people would stop bringing up her brother.

"Agent Clint Barton, Alexis' brother." Steve announced. Lex glared at the captain. "What?" Steve not understanding the cause for Lex's reaction.

"Nothing." She sighed and buried her face in her hands.

"I want to know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from in here." Steve glanced over at Natasha and then Lex, whose face was still hidden by her hands.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him." Bruce's comment earned a chuckle from Lex as she brought her face from her hands. Lex looked over her shoulder and at the scientist.

"That is probably the best thing I've heard all day." Lex leaned back in her chair.

"Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother." Thor boomed, defending his mischievous brother. Lex understood where he was coming from; no matter how much trouble your brother caused you always defended him. Been there, done that.

"He killed 80 in two days."

"He's adopted…"

"I think its about the mechanics." Lex chimed in, changing the subject. Lex looked to Bruce for this one.

"What does he need the iridium for?" Bruce asked as Tony came walking into the room.

"Its a stabilizing agent." Tony and Lex both said in unison. Lex looked at Tony who seemed to already be looking at her. Steve noticed the tension between the two. Tony quickly looked away form Lex and continued. "It means the portal won't collapse on itself. Like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D.." Tony walked past Thor and gave him a pat on the arm. "No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing."

"Also, it means the portal can open as wide for as long as Loki wants." Lex fell into her habit of finishing Tony's train of thought. Tony did the same with her. Whenever they worked together there was nothing, but the sound of the music that Tony was blasting. They knew how the other worked so there was little commutation needed most times. It was nice.

"Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails." Tony commanded. Everyone looked at the billionaire with confusion. Everyone except Lex that is. She was used to his childish antics. _'Oh boy, here we go.' _She thought. Tony walked over to Fury's usual spot, turning his back to them. "That man is playing Galaga," Tony pointed accusingly at one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. lackeys. "He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did," Tony then took his left hand and covered his left eye. "How does Fury even see these?" He the turned briefly, expecting an answer.

"He turns." Agent Hill answered him flatly. She clearly wasn't a fan of Tony Stark.

"Sounds exhausting." Within the blink of an eye Tony went serious. He turned to one of the screens in front of him. "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Baryon can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-engery density." As Tony turned back toward them, Lex noticed Tony attached something under the screen. Because she knew Tony she could easily spot this, but anyone else wouldn't have caught it. "Something to kick start the cube."

Lex looked at Tony and he met her blue eyes with his brown ones. He knew she saw him, he almost had to force himself not to smirk. "When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Lex glared at Agent Hill who clearly had a stick firmly planted up her ass. Sure Tony could be a pain sometimes, but that was so reason to hate him. And by the tone of her voice, Lex could tell that she clearly did. Lex never liked Hill. She took things way to seriously. She was ten times worse the Natasha.

"Last night." This time it was Lex's turn to force back a smirk. "The packet, Slevig's notes, the extraction theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?"

Steve moved closer to Lex and leaned over. "What with you and Stark?" He questioned in a hushed tone. Tony noticed this, but tried to ignore it. There was practically no space between the two. 'Its complicated.' was all Lex said in return. Steve sat back up straight and shot Tony a question. "Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?"

"He would have to heat the cube to 120-million kelvin just break through the Coulomb barrier." Bruce stated in a scientific language in which only Tony and Lex understood.

"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect." Tony continued using words that barely made sense to most people in the room.

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion-" Lex interrupted Bruce mid-sentence

"At any reactor on the planet… oh shit." Lex didn't realize how massive this was. Maybe she should have went after the iridium instead of Clint…

"Finally, someone else besides myself and Agent Barton that speaks english." Again with this 'Agent Barton' crap. It was starting to get on her nerves. It would be fine coming from anyone, but him.

"Is that what just happened?" Steve looked at Lex confused. She chuckled at the super soldier. She gave him a pat on the arm, pretty much saying 'Its okay, Steve, not everyone can be as smart as us.'

"It's good to meet you, Dr Banner." Tony walked up to Bruce and shook his hand. "Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster."

"Thanks…"

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube," Fury announced as he walked into the room. "I was hoping that you and Agent Barton might join him." '_Well this is gonna be fun.' _Lex thought. She felt bad for Bruce who was going to be stuck in the middle of her and Tony's current dispute. Tony clearly didn't want to talk to her about… well you know.

"I would start with that sick of his. It may be magical-"

"We're scientist, not magicians, Rogers." Lex teased. He gave her a playful glare as he continued.

"But it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube," Fury said. "And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkeys? I do not understand." Thor was genuinely confused.

"I do." Steve smirked proudly. He then looked over at Lex "I understood that reference." She laughed, she liked the fact that he was funny without meaning to be. Behind them Tony rolled his eyes, his annoyance of the soldier becoming obvious.

"Shall we play, Doctor? Agent Barton?" Tony pulled Lex's chair away from Steve, separating the two. He swung it around so she faced him. She knew what he was doing and gave him a stern look. Wasn't he suppose to me mad at her? Not worrying about her and Steve?

"This way." Bruce motioned for them to follow him. Tony gave her a sarcastic smile before following Bruce. Sometimes he confused the hell out of her.

"I'll see you later, Steve." Lex got up out of her chair reluctantly and followed the two men.

**XXX**

An awkward silence hung in the air as the three worked in their own areas. It had been like this a good 20 minutes. This was ridiculous. Being the outgoing person that she was, Lex decided to take a leap of faith.

"Your suit got pretty banged up with in that scuffle with Thor, didn't it?" Lex asked. Nothing. He didn't even look her way. Seriously? Even Bruce turned to face her and he wasn't even the genius she was taking to. "Tony."

"Yeah, so?" Tony finally answered. He still didn't facing her.

"You want me to take a look at it while you and Bruce work on finding the Tesseract?" Because clearly she wasn't wanted here.

"Nope." What?

"I mean-"

"I said no."

"Okay, you two need to stop." Bruce demanded. God, they were like children. "Whatever happened between you two, you need to solve it. This is getting ridiculous. You're worse then a couple of ten year olds."

"He started it." She said innocently.

"Enough. I'm going to leave and you two are going to talk. When I get back you better be at least civil." He was clearly done with their shit. He said all of this in a calm manner, but you could still tell that the two were getting on his nerves. He liked both of them and the fact that Tony refused to give Lex a chance at whatever she was trying to do made him want to be as far away from them as possible.

Bruce left the room, leaving the two alone.

"Look what you've done. You scared Bruce away." Tony said.

"Me? Are you serous right now? You need to stop this, Tony. Whatever you want to say, say it now." Lex snapped.

"Oh, you don't want to hear what I have to say. Its not very PG." Tony turned to face her, his face cold.

"Try me, Stark."

"Okay, here it goes." Tony walked closer to her. "You lied to me. You hid your past from me. I didn't even know what your real fucking last name was!" Tony scowled. "I trusted you. You were my best friend. When I needed someone this past year, you were there. At least Alexis _Brooks _was. I don't even know who the fuck Alexis Barton is." Tony paused. "NO, I take that back. She's a goddamn assassin that kills people for a living. She lies for a living, she builds fake relationships just to get close to people to figure out what makes them tick." Lex looked away from Tony. "Was any of it real?"

"What?" He wasn't seriously asking this, was he?

"Me, you, everything that was between us? Those long nights in the workshop working on my suit, the energy project, our conversations? Where you just there to keep tabs on me for S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Damn, he was pissed. If only he would let her explain…

"Tony…"

"Don't 'Tony' me!" Tony roared. He stopped and looked at Lex. She refused to make eye contact with him. "Why didn't you tell me? Did you not trust me?"

"No, I-"

"I trusted you to an extent to where if you told me the damn sky was purple I'd believe you. But, that's gone now. You out of all people should know not to get on my shit list."

Lex, for the first time locked eyes with him. "If you'd just let me explain…"

"Why? So you can lie to me some more?"

"Will you stop?" Lex pleaded.

"Stop what? Stop telling you how hurt I am? How I feel?" He was seeing red.

"You made it clear how you feel."

"Oh have I? I made it clear that I hate you? I hate everything about you! I hate that I let you in! I hate that you lied to me! I hate this effect you have on me…" Tony trailed off. "I hate you, Alexis Barton… I hate you." Tony's face contorted into a pained expression.

Lex just stood there. Was he serious? Did he really hate her? "Thanks, for spelling it out." She looked at him one last time before leaving the room, trying her best to control her emotions.

Tony starred after her. He needed time to process what just happened. He leaned against one of the tables, his arms crossed. He stayed that way till Bruce came back a few minutes later.

"Where's Alexis?" He asked.

"She's gone."

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**DunDunDunnnn lol. I hope you guys liked it! **

**Don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you all for the alerts and favorites! And thank you _The. Dragon__.Singer_, X_xdreamgirl95xX, MME, and Audrey Whyte for the reviews!_**

**_In this chapter I decided to show more of an emotional side to Lex. I wanted to show that even though she is suppose to be strong and fearless she still has her breaking points. There's a flash back in here with her and Tony too. _**

**_I hope you guys like it!_**

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Lex readied another arrow. Her hands were shaky and her eyes blurred from the tears threatening to fall. She will not cry over him or his hurtful words. All she had to do was shoot. Calm herself down and shoot.

As she was about to let her fingers slip off the bow string and send the arrow down range, the door behind her opened. She quickly swung around and let the arrow go, it puncturing the wood a mere inches from Steve's head. "Whoa there tiger, didn't mean to interrupt." Lex relaxed herself and let the bow rest at her side. She didn't say anything, she didn't want to. She just looked at Steve with her tear brimmed eyes as she stood there. "Alexis?" Steve moved closer to the archer with caution. Once he reached her, he took his strong arms and wrapped them around her slender figure. He was expecting her to fight him, but she didn't. She rested her head on his chest anddropped her bow so she could embrace the solider. Still nothing was said as the two stood there. Steve loosened his grip, trying to guid her to one of the near by couches. Once they reached it Steve sat first, guiding Lex next to him. She sat and he took his arm and placed it around her shoulders. She leaned her head on his shoulder, remaining quiet.

If it was any other time, Lex would't even consider letting anyone besides Clint do this, but right now she need someone to be there, just as Clint was usually. "Alexis?" Steve said again.

He wasn't the best person to do this, he had no experience when it came to comforting people, much less women. He figured he would never find someone as strong and brave and smart as Alexis like this. It was the last state of mind he ever expected to see her in. What had gone so wrong to make her this way? "In order for me to help you you have to tell me what's wrong."

Lex knew she needed to opened up to someone. That person had only ever been Clint. Seeing that he was not here, Steve would have to do. He was an honest and humble man, she knew she could trust him.

—

Tony walked down the hall, looking for the archery range. Natasha said that was where Lex was most likely to be. After Tony had told Bruce Lex had left, Bruce gave him somewhat of a silent treatment. Several minutes later Tony finally got him to spill. Bruce had compared himself to Lex, he said that they're pasts didn't change who they were and that Tony was wrong for what he did. He encouraged Tony to go and talk with Lex as much as he didn't want to. Tony knew that in order to find the Tesseract and stop Loki they had to work together though. So, here he was.

He finally managed to find the range. Before walking straight in he peered through the door's window. Lex shooting arrows was what he expecting, but not what he found. Again the sight of Captain America and Lex made his stomach turn, this time even more so, seeing him hold and comfort her. There was only one time he had ever seen her look like that. That look was heartbreak. Knowing that the second time around it was him who cause that look made it even more so.

**XXX**

_"Its your turn to get him." Lex groaned as Happy stated this over the phone. Tony was out at a club, drunk, again. Pepper was out of town and so it fell to Happy and Lex to drag him out of the clubs. This time around it fell to Lex, seeing that Happy had got him the previous time._

_"Ugh, fine. I'll be there in 10." Lex hung up the phone and reluctantly rolled out of bed. It was 2 in the morning and a club was not where she wanted to be headed, but as her job, as Tony's right hand gal it was something she had gotten used to. She pulled on a pair of jean short that came up about mid thigh, a tight long sleeve grey v-neck and a pair of black converse high-tops. She pulled her hair in to a pony tail and was on her way. She grabbed a taxi, knowing she's be driving Tony back to his house in his car. _

_Just like she promised, she was there in 10 minutes give or take. She went around back, picking the lock of the backdoor. Yes, there was a front entrance, but seeing that she would be exiting with Tony Stark, maybe the front wasn't the best idea. She then went in and grabbed Tony, Tony coming out without a fight. "So nice of you to show up, Lex."_

_"Yeah yeah yeah, just shut up and walk." Lex had gone through this plenty many times before. She pulled his car keys out of his pocket and dragged him toward his vehicle. "Get in." Tony obliged and climbing into the passenger seat of the Audi R8 spyder. That was one good thing that came out of picking Tony up, she got to drive his car._

_They were back at his Malibu home in no time. She parked the car in his garage and pulled him inside. "Go take a shower, will ya? You reek." She pushed him towards the stairs._

_"Only if you promise to be here when I get back." She could hear the slight slur in his words as he spoke. She nodded and watched him as he walked up the stairs. Not to soon later she heard the water start to run. She walked over to one of the tables he had in the room. There was a picture on it of her and Tony. She couldn't help but smile. It was when her and Tony where working on one of the car's in his garage._

_Her eyes were ripped away form the picture as her phone started to ring. It was probably Happy wanting to make sure she had gotten Tony. She pulled her phone out of her pocket only to find out it wasn't Happy._

_"Clint?" _

_After the 15 minute conversation with her brother she hung up the phone. He was calling to check in, make sure everything was going good. He wanted to let her know that he was going on a mission and wouldn't be able to contact her for a while._

_She heard the water stop and so she moved into the kitchen, grabbing a glass out of the cabinet, pouring water for Tony. He came down two minute later in nothing but a pair of navy blue sweat pants. His wet hair clung to his forehead. _

_"Feeling better?" Lex asked, handing him the glass. He smiled at her and gratefully took it. _

_"Eh. As good as I'm ever gonna get." He sounded more like himself now, but he still had plenty of alcohol running though his system and she knew she couldn't rust his answers. As he drank from the glass, Lex let her eyes wander to his bare chest, the arch reactor glowing brightly right in the center._

_"Well, lets get you up to bed then." Lex knew that if she personally didn't escort him to his room, he would probably mange to wander downstair into his workshop. Drunk Tony + dangerous equipment isn't a good mix. She lead him up the stairs and into his room._

_"Don't you ever get tried of doing this shit?" He asked at he plopped into bed._

_"Anything for you." She meant it too. She'd do anything for him._

_"Anything?" Lex raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You're staying. Its too late."_

_"No, its okay-."_

_"Nope, you're staying."_

_"Fine. I'll go stay in one of the guest rooms." _

_"Nope, right here." Tony patted the space next to him. _

_"Not gonna happen, boss." She chuckled. She could still smell the liquor on his breath, even from across the room._

_"If you… if you refuse i'll…" The alcohol was slowing his brain function down that's for sure. "I'll fire you."_

_"No you won't."_

_"Watch me." Tony smirked at her. There was no arguing with this man, especially when he was intoxicated._

_"…fine." Lex sighed. She just wanted to go home and sleep. Sleeping here will just have to do. She kicked off her sneakers and climbed into the bed, opposite of Tony. She made sure there was a fair amount of space between them before even considering getting comfortable. "Night, Tony."_

_"Night, Lex." Tony happily laid his head on his pillow, falling asleep instantly. Unfortunately though, he only managed to stay asleep for a few hours due to whimpering sounds. He sat up, his head pounding due to his new found hangover. He looked over next to him and saw Lex's face contorted in pain. "Lex?" Tony scooted closer to her. He tried his best to shake her awake. "Alexis?" He continued to shake her. Her whimpering was only getting louder. She was having a nightmare and it was beginning to scare him._

_Tony gave one last good shake before Lex flung up into an upright sitting position. "Adam!" She gasped. Her eyes snapped open, her breathing fast and shallowed. She looked at Tony, terrified. She did her best to scurry away from him, it resulting in her landing on the floor. She continued to try to get as far away from him as posable, not stopping till her back hit the wall. She brought her knees up to her chest and she buried her face in the folds of her arms._

_Tony just sat on the bed, horrified. What just happened? What could be so terrifying that it cause her to do that? And who was Adam? Tony pushed all those questions to the back of his mind as he slowing got out of the bed. He padded towards Lex, taking a seat next to her against the wall. "Lex?" he said softly._

_She raised her head just the slightest amount, just enough for Tony to see the tears running down her cheeks. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulling her onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burring her face in his chest. "Shh, Lex, it's gonna be okay. It was just a dream. I'm here, nothing is going to hurt you." Tony tried his best comfort her, trying to reassure her it was all just a dream. Little did he know, that dream was very real._

**XXX**_  
_

Tony took one last look at the two before deciding that leaving them alone was best, he would just head back to the lab. There was nothing he could do.

_"Agent Barton, do you copy?" _A voice rung though Lex's head as it sounded through her earpiece.

"I'm here. What do you need, Director?" Lex sat up straight as she answered Fury. She had managed to pulled herself together after a long talk with Steve. She told him all that had happened with Tony, why she left S.H.I.E.L.D. and all that she had been holding in. It was nice to get it all off her chest.

_"I need you to interrogate Loki." _Fury informed her.

Lex sighed in annoyance. Why her? She was in no mood. "Sir?" Lex questioned.

_"He's got Clint. Clint is the wild in card in this situation. He's your link to Loki."_

"…I'll head there now."

_"Good." _With that Fury ended the conversation.

Lex stood, removing herself form Steve's grasp. "I gotta go."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Steve asked, still concerned. This bond he felt with the assassin was even stronger now then it was before. She was his first friend since arriving in this new time.

"As good as i'm gonna get." She gave him a smile. "Thanks, Steve. I uh… really needed that."

"Me too." Steve returned her smile.

"I'll catch up with you later." She turned away from Steve and walked to the location of Loki's cell. All the while she realized that she wished there were more good people like Steve out there. She had made a new friend, found someone new that she could trust. These types of people didn't come around often for her, so when they did, she held on tight and protected them with her life.

**XXX**

"There's not many people that can sneak up on me." Loki turned to face his visitor, his infamous smirk firmly planed on his face.

"But you figured I'd come." Lex stood facing the god. She had made sure to compose herself before even stepping anywhere need the cell. She knew this man would do his best to get in her head. It was her job to make sure that didn't happen. Any emotions she left at the door. Well, at least she hoped she did.

"After. After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And I would cooperate." Loki made his way closer to her, one slow step at a time.

"I want to know what you've done to Agent Barton." Lex demanded.

"I would say I've expanded your brother's mind." Lex tilled her head to the side slightly at the sound of his answer.

"And once you've won, once you're king of the mountain, what happens to his mind?" Lex stalked closer to the cell, crossing her arms as she came to a halt.

"Oh, the bond between siblings…what makes your connection to your brother so strong?" Loki's eyes connected with her's. She felt a shiver run down her spine. He wasn't looking at her, she was looking through her outer shell and deep into her. He walked back slowly to where he could take a seat in his cell. Lex did the same with a chair that was located next to the railing.

"He's the only thing I have left in this world. He's the only person I care about." She stated.

"And what will you do if I vow to spare him?"

"Not let you out."

"No, but I like this." He gave her a toothy grin as he leaned slightly forward. "Your world in the balance and you bargain for one of the only two men you care about." What? Did he say two?

"I've learned that feelings can only cause you pain. I learned that the hard way. That's why I left S.H.I.E.L.D.. I learned that the fewer people you care about, the less likely feelings get in your way. My brother is the only person that has yet to make me regret my choice to care for him." She sounded cold as she spoke.

"I guess those like Tony Stark and Agent Adam Hale have caused you to mold yourself this way." Loki's smile grew wider as the look of horror spread across the archer's face. "Your brother was kind enough to tell me the story behind Agent Hale's death."

"He was a double agent. I was doing my job." She hissed through clenched teeth.

"And what about Stark?" She looked anywhere, but at Loki.

"What about him? He was my boss." He _was, _not anymore.

Loki chuckled. "Oh, but he just wasn't your boss, now was he?" How did he know his? Lex refused to say anything else. She didn't like where this conversation was going. "Like many pathetic women before you, you fell for your boss." She looked at the god who was still wearing a smirk. She took a deep breath and decided to do the exact opposite of what he expected. Instead of denying it, she would except it.

"How could I not?" Loki looked at her curiously. She was supposed to fight him on this matter. "Sure he's broken. He's broken in a lot of ways and in a lot of places, but like anything else that's broken, he can be fixed. Whether he hates me or not… I'll always be there for him…" Lex looked down and away from Loki and thought over what she said. It was true as much as she wished it wasn't. He just pulled her heart from her chest and she was still willing to stand by him.

"Too bad he doesn't want anything to do with you."

"Okay, how the fuck do you know all this?" Seriously, this was getting annoying.

"I have my ways." He got up and started to pace, his hands intertwined behind his back. To be honest, the only reason he knew that last part was because she had practically told him. 'Whether he hates me or not' kind of gave it away. He was just trying to get under her skin. "Now that Stark is gone the only thing you have to hope for is your older brother," Loki moved to stand just a mere feet from Lex. They were face to face, the only thing between them was the glass wall. "Out of this entire world the only thing you have to show is your accomplishments in this agency. Its pathetic. You lie and you kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are apart of you. And they will never go away." Loki took his fist and slammed it against the glass, causing Lex to jump. "I won't touch your brother, not until I make him kill you in every way he knows you fear. And then he'll wake, just long enough to see his good work," Lex cringed and faced away from the god, moving away from the cell. "and when he screams, I'll split his skull. This is my bargain you mewling quim."

Lex stood there, her back facing him. Thoughts bounced vigorously through her head as her heart pounded in her chest. Her emotions threatened to break the hold she had on them. "You're a monster."

Loki chuckled at her response. "Oh, no. You brought the monster." Loki stood up straight as he looked at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

That's when it clicked. Lex knew what Loki's plan was. She wiped her face of any trace of emotion and stood up tall. She turned to face to god, trying her best to look unfazed. "So, Banner. That's your play."

"What?" Loki looked bewildered.

Lex rushed away from Loki and out the door. "Loki means to unleash the Hulk." She said into her earpiece, relaying to Fury what she had discovered. "Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way." Of course she knew that that's where Tony was, but now was no the time to worry about that.

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**I hope you guys all ****enjoyed it!**

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	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you guy for all the favorites and alerts! Once again thank you to _The. Dragon. Singer_, _Xxdreamgirl95xX_, _Audrey Whyte_ and MME for the reviews!**

**Now this chapter has quite a bit of dialog so...**

**But just please don't hate me for how this chapter ends... please... **

**Anyways...I hope you guys like it!**

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"I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed a bit." Lex heard Steve say as she walked into the lab that was holding everyone; Tony, Bruce, Natasha, Steve, Thor and Fury.

"You know about this?" Bruce aimed his question towards Natasha and Lex, but mainly Lex. The sad part was that Lex did know about the weapons unfortunately.

"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?" Natasha asked, taking a step forward. Lex made her way around Thor and closer to Steve. Tony was a mere 5 feet away, she forced herself not to look at him.

"I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed." Everyone could see that the scientist was getting more and more agitated by the second.

"Loki is manipulating you."

"And you've been doing what, exactly?" Bruce continued to argue with the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, demanding answers. Fury put the blame on Thor and then they started going back and forth.

"We are hopelessly, hilariously out gunned." Fury stated.

"My people want nothing, but peace with your planet." Thor defended his people with endless honor.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you?" Lex made herself known in the conversation as she voiced her thoughts. She didn't agree with Phase 2 100%, but she knew it was for the right reason they were constructing these weapons. "And you're not the only threat."

"This world's filling up with people who can't be matched, that can't be controlled." Fury looked at Tony, hoping he would understand. He figured out of all people in this room, he would understand S.H.I.E.L.D.'s logic.

"Like you controlled the cube?" Steve took a jab at Fury.

"Your work with the tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is a signal to all realms that Earth is ready for a higher form of war." Thor said.

"You forced our hand. We had to come up with something." This time it was Lex's turn to take the defense.

"A nuclear deterrent." Tony chirped in bluntly. "Because that always calms everything down." Lex faced Tony, his face and tone cold. She locked eyes with him.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark." Lex shot back, glaring at the genius.

"I'm sure if he still made weapons Stark would be neck-deep…" Steve came up behind Lex, backing her up.

"Hold on. How is this now about me?" Tony broke eye contact with Lex and looked briefly over at Steve.

"I'm sorry, isn't everything?" Lex sarcastically input. Tony eyes shifted back to Lex. He had butted heads with the assassin on many occasions and had been the victim of her sharp tongue before, but this was different.

"I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor said.

"Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" Lex looked away from Tony and over at Thor. Fury smirked at the comment. He missed having Lex around. She was always so fast to jump on the defense. She refused to take the backseat and just sit there and be criticized.

"You treat your champions with such mistrust." He had a point. No one on this team trusted anyone.

"Are you boys really that naive. S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors potential threats." Natasha practically rolled her eyes.

"Captian America's on a threat watch?" Bruce crossed his arms.

"We all are." She countered

"Wait you're on that list?"

"Stark, I swear to god if you make one more wise crack…" Rogers glared at the billionaire.

"Threat! Verbal threat. I feel threatened." Tony patronized the solider.

"Show some respect." Lex snarled. She was hurt and she was going to let that show.

"Respect what?" He was really getting on her nerves. After that everything was lost in the mob of words and arguing that continued crowding the room.

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos." Thor boomed above them all.

"That's his M.O., isn't it?" Bruce agreed. "I mean, what are we, a team?" Bruce looked around the room at all the members of this 'team'. "No, we're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're a time bomb."

"You need to step away." Fury pushed away all other thoughts at that moment. His focus now was to keep Bruce calm, to keep Loki form getting what he wanted.

"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Tony defended the scientist.

"You know damn well why. Back off!" Lex growled. Yes, she trusted Bruce's ability to control himself to a certain degree, but she did not trust the situation.

"I'm starting to want you to make me." Tony tilled his head to the side cockily.

"Yeah, big man in a suit of armor. Take that off and what are you?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."

"I know men with none of that worth ten of you." Steve commented.

"Your over inflated ego tunes everything out but your own voice and accusations. You're a man in a metal suit playing the hero, when in turn you only serve yourself. Take that off and you're a man that refuses to except anything that he doesn't want to hear. You aren't worth the time, Stark. I don't need a suit to take you out." Lex stood tall as she called him out. If he hated her, then she wouldn't hold back. She had nothing to lose. "You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire."

Lex smirked and shook her head. "Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero." Tony kept a straight face, but on the inside his chest was tightening at her hurtful words. Coming from anyone else they would have meant nothing, but they came from _her. _

"A hero? Like you? You're definitely hero material. You're an agent in a secret organization and you kill for a living. Everything special about you involves killing, lying and scheming." Everyone in the room could feel the tension between the two.

"Put on the suit. Lets go a few round." Lex knew that suit inside and out, she could take it out in a matter of seconds. Both Tony and Lex's attention was drawn to Thor as the heard him chuckle.

"You people are so petty, and tiny."

"Yeah, this is a team." You could almost hear Bruce's eyes roll.

"Agent Barton, could you escort Dr. Banner back to his…" Fury needed to get Tony and Lex out of the same room.

"Where? You rented my room."

"The cell was just in case…"

"In case you needed to kill me. But you can't. I know, I tried." The anger built up in Lex started to fade and was replaced by despair.

"Bruce…" she looked dolefully at the scientist.

"I got low. I didn't see an end. So, I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it out," He paused. "So, I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good. Until you dragged me back into this freak show, and put everyone here at risk." He glared at Fury. He then turned his attention to Natasha. "You want to know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You want to know how I stay calm?" His voice became more agitated and he unknowing reached back and grabbed Loki's scepter. Fury, Natasha and Lex all tensed, reaching for their guns.

"Bruce, put down the scepter." Lex demanded calmly. Bruce looked down at his hand in disbelief. He hadn't even realized he had picked it up. All attention then shifted off of Bruce and over to a computer that was beeping vigorously.

Bruce put down the scepter and walked over to the computer that had caught everyone's attention. "Sorry, kids, you don't get to see my party trick after all."

"You located the Tesseract?"

"I could get there fastest." Tony blatantly volunteered.

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard." Thor claimed. "No human is a match for it."

Tony, completely ignoring what Thor said, heading for the door to put his suit on. "You're not going alone." Lex grabbed his arm to stop him, but he just pushed it away.

"You're gonna stop me?" Here they go again.

"Put on the suit, lets find out."

"I'm not afraid to take you out."

"Put on the suit." Lex growled.

"Oh my god." They all heard Bruce gasp. A blast shook the aircraft and an explosion threw them all to the ground. Natasha and Bruce dropped through the floor and Lex, Tony and Steve were thrown against the wall. Lex's vision started to blur with red. She wiped her face to find blood dripping from her forehead. She looked over to see Steve already recovering.

Lex faced Tony as he tried to get to his feet. "Put on the suit." She huffed.

"Yeah." He gasped and they both got to their feet and headed out of the now destroyed lab. Tony lost his balance and went into a wall. Lex grabbed him and pulled him back down the hall. Lex looked over her shoulder to see Steve behind them. "You okay, Cap?"

"Yeah, i'm good."

_"Someone has got to get out there and patch up that engine." _Hill said frantically over the communication line.

_"Stark, you copy that?"_

_"Im on it."_

_"Barton, grab your gear and head to the bridge."_

_"Got it, boss."_

_"Romanoff?"_

_"We're okay."_

The three reached a split in the halls. Tony looked over at Steve. "Engine Three. I'll meet you there." He then looked over at Lex. "Be careful." She nodded and he continued his path to his suit while Steve headed for the engine and Lex headed for the bridge.

"Bring the carrier about to a 180, heading south! Take us to the water." Fury instructed as Lex ran into the bridge, bow in hand.

"We're flying blind. Navigation's recalibrating after the engine failure."

"Is the sun coming up?" Lex asked as she trotted to Fury's side.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then put it on the left, you idiot. Get us over water. One more turbine goes down and we drop." Lex turned to the man next to her. "What do you need me to do?"

"Be look out. Make sure the bridge isn't breached."

"Yes, sir." She gladly took the security detail. As the crew scrambled around, Lex heard Tony's voice over the communication line. _"Barton, I could use your help with this engine. Rogers isn't a big handy man."_

"Boss?" Lex asked Fury for permission. As much as he would rather have her here on guard, he knew getting that engine up and running was the priority.

"Go."

"I'm on my way, Stark." Lex bolted through the chaos and headed for engine three. Once she got there, she saw Steve on a high platform. She slung her bow over her shoulder and took a leap of faith, reaching for the nearest thing to grab. She grabbed onto a poll and swung herself up. The wind was challenging her balance, but she refused to let it get the better of her. "What do you need me to do?" Lex greeted the solider as she crouched down in front of the engine control panel.

_"I need you to tell me which relays are in overload position."_

Lex looked over them, they all seemed to be good. "The relays are intact." Steve stood behind her, looking over her shoulder.

"What's our next move?" He asked.

_"Even if I clear the rotors, this thing won't re-engage without a jump. I'm going to have to get in there and push."_

"If that thing gets up to speed it'll shred you." Lex tried to hide the worry in her voice.

_"That stator control unit can reverse the polarity long enough to disengage maglev and that could…"_

"Speak English!" Steve complained. Lex chuckled. She understood everything Tony was saying.

_"You see that red lever? It will slow the rotors down long enough for me to get out."_ Steve and Lex both looked over at the lever he was talking about. _"Stand by it and wait for my word."_

Steve took Lex's hand and they both leaped to the next platform. They stood on the platform, waiting for Tony, when Steve noticed something. Were those S.H.I.E.L.D. agents? He got his answer when a grandee was thrown in Tony direction. They definitely weren't. Steve jumped platforms once again and knocked the explosive away. Steve engaged in close quarter combat with the men. Lex readied and arrow and shot it within a matter of seconds. It hit one hostile square in the chest. Steve picked up an AK-47 and headed back up to her. He then engaged in a fire fight with another one of Loki's men. Lex went to take another shot, but she couldn't see the man shooting at them.

Just then, Steve and Lex felt the aircraft shift sideways; another engine was down. _"Its Barton, he took out our system. He's headed to the detention level. Does anyone copy?" _As much as Lex wanted to , she couldn't. There was no way getting around this guy. She was relieved when Natasha picked up the request.

_"Stark, we're losing altitude."_

_"Yeah, I noticed." _He was almost there. He needed a little more time. He activated the thrusters in his suit as he pushed against the metal.

Another wave of bullets headed towards Steve and Lex. Steve was unprepared for the wave and cowered back. He lost his footing and fell over the side. "Steve!" Lex rushed to the edge only to find him dangling at the end of a loose wire.

"I'm fine. Just watch out." He warned as he slowly made his way up the wire. A realization hit Lex. She did one thing what you should never ever do; she took her eyes off the enemy. Once she turned around she felt a sharp pain in her lower left abdomen and then another and another. Her body locked up at the impact of the bullets. She lost her balance and fell back.

Her focus now was not on her slim chance at surviving, but at making sure Steve made it. So, as she begun to fall, she readied an arrow and took out the man who shot her, who was now out in the open. A direct hit to the throat. She now felt nothing around her except air. She was free falling to her death.

"Alexis!" Steve screamed. He reached out to her in a hopeless attempt. In one last strive, she shot an arrow with a grappling hook at the end of it, but she was too far down. It came up short.

Steve watched as the figure of his only friend fell to the Earth. There was nothing he could do. _"Cap hit the lever." _Steve snapped out go his trance and tried to focus on the current task at hand.

"I need a minute here!" He yelled as he climbed up the wire.

_"Lever, now!" _ The engine was starting to speed up and soon Tony wouldn't be able to escape.

Steve finally managed to pull himself back up on to the platform. He crawled over to the lever as he heard Tony clanking and grinding in the engine. He reached up and pulled it down. Seconds later Tony shot into the open area near Steve. Steve felt relief flow through he body. At least he could save someone. Tony landed not far from Steve and pulled his helmet off. As Tony caught his breath he looked up at Steve. "Where's Barton?"

Steve couldn't face telling Tony that Lex was dead, he just couldn't. So, instead he opened the communication line so all could hear him. "Agent Alexis Barton is down. She was shot and fell overboard…"

**XXX**

Natasha forced herself up. She had to get him back and now was her chance. She made her way to the detention level and spotted Clint right away. She soundlessly dropped down to his level and followed right behind him. Even though she made no noise he could feel her presents. He swung around and aimed to shoot her with an arrow, but she blocked it, expecting noting less from him. He turned and elbowed her in the side of the face, swaying her balance. She quickly regained it and kicked him in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards. She ducked up under the metal path they were on. She swung up from the other side, kicking him in the torso. He once again tried to shoot her but she swung out of the line of fire. Clint took a shot at her with his bow, but she easily avoided it. She grabbed onto his bow's string, then punched him in the face. He released the bow and she threw it to the side. He pulled a knife out and went back on the offense. The two went back and forth neither managing to get the upper hand.

She wiggle out of one of his submission maneuvers and sent him head first into the metal rail. He didn't bounce right back, he just stayed there. As she waited for his counter she heard Captain America's voice over the communication line. _"Agent Alexis Barton is down. She was shot and fell overboard..." _

A flood of pain washed through Natasha's body. Out of all people to fall in battle Lex was the last she expected. She looked over at Clint who was now on his knees. "Natasha?" His eyes were still blue so he was still under Loki's control. She delivered a knockout blow to her friend. As she watched him fall back she slid to the ground. She looked over at the older Barton sibling who was now unconscious. How was she supposed to tell Clint that his little sister was dead?

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**Sorry I'm not sorry lol**

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	7. Chapter 7

**Damn, I was not expecting such a response! Thank you all so much! Thank you for all the alerts and favorites, and trust me there was a lot! Thank you to ****_Shades-Soul_, _The. Dragon. Singer _ , _Missing A Muse_, _BookFreak_, _Audrey Whyte_, _Sunshine_, _Xxdreamgirl95xX_, _Reader_, _Erika_, and _Nessafly_ for the reviews! The response to this story is amazing and its keeping me motivated to keep going. I was ****thinking about having this story end in a few chapters with the direction I was going for, but you guys are really making me want to make it long and better. I can end it in a couple chapters with a happily ever after or I could keep it going a little while longer. Tell me which you would prefer!**

**Anyways, I hope you like this one even though its not as long as the others.**

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Tony drifted off as Fury went on about how Couslon died still believing in the Avengers and what not. Sure, he was sorrowful at the loss of the agent, but compared to what he had lost, that meant nothing. He lost his best friend, one of the only people that ever understood him, his anchor. He lost Lex. She died still thinking that he hated her. He could never forgive himself for that. He stood abruptly and made his way to the place where Coulson had been killed.

Once he reached his destination, he stopped and just stood there. He didn't know what to do or how to feel. He was alone in the world once again and he didn't know how he could move on from this. _"…I hate you, Alexis Barton." _Those words rung through his head along with the look in her eyes when he delivered them. She probably had hated him too. He let his ego get in the way of seeing that she meant no harm in not telling him. Not only was she protecting herself, but also him… She knew what kind of reaction it would pull out of him and she tried her best to avoid it. She had a reason for not telling him, a reason that was justified. He pushed her away from such a stupid reason. Her past was her past, it had nothing to do was the Lex he knew. The Lex that was the center of his whole world. He hated to admit how much she meant to him, but there was no getting around it now.

"I'm sorry, Tony. I know you two were close." Steve said as he enter the room

"She died thinking I hated her." Tony claimed. Steve crossed his arms and he leaned against the rail.

"She knows you didn't hate her. You said it out of anger. There was no meaning behind it. She was just upset at the fact that you didn't let her explain. Besides her brother, you were the only person she truly ever cared about." Steve tried his best to comfort the mourning billionaire. Lex had told him all of this before she had to interrogate Loki. Tony didn't show it, but it made him feel just the slightest bit better hearing that there was a good chance that he was just important to her as she was to him.

"Has anyone told her brother yet?" Tony asked. If he felt like this he couldn't imagine how Clint would take it.

"Natasha's giving him the news when he wakes up." Tony continued to stare blankly at the wall. The super solider padded over to the genius. "We have to keep fighting, Tony. We're at war and-"

"We are not soldiers!" Tony snapped, locking eyes with Steve. His expression was unreadable. There were to many emotions coming off of him to get a lock on just one. "I'm not marching to Fury's fife."

"Neither am I." He assured. Tony didn't realize that Steve had lost her too. Sure the bond wasn't as strong, but she still meant something him. "He's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does. But right now, we got to put that behind us and get this done…for Alexis. We owe it to her." Steve tried to continued on. "Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list.." But Tony interrupted.

"He made it personal." He stated looking over at the blood stain left by Couslon on the wall.

"That's not the point," Steve said, trying to get Tony back on task.

"That is the point. That's Loki's point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?"

"To tear us apart." Yes, Loki tore them apart with lost of the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, but in Steve's eyes it made them a stronger unit together. They had a common goal now, a common cause.

"Yeah, divide and conquer is great, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it." Tony walked around Steve. "He wants an audience."

"Right. I caught he act in Stuttgart." It seemed like they were finally piecing it together.

"Yeah, that's just a preview. This is opening night." Tony said matter of factly. "And Loki, he's a full-tilt diva, right? He wants flowers, he wants parades. He want monuments built to the skies with his name plastered…" Tony paused for a second as an epiphany literally smacked him in the face. "Son of a bitch."

**XXX**

Clint began to strain against the restraints, his face contorting in pain. "Clint. You're going to be all right." Natasha sat a few feet away from the recovering agent.

"You know that?" Clint chuckled darkly. "Is that what you know?" Again, Clint pulled against the restraints. "I have to flush him out."

"You got to level out. Its gonna take time." She knew this was going to be hard for him. He had been through a lot with Loki and now he was going to face even more once she broke the news about Lex.

"You don't understand. Have you ever had someone take your brain and play? Pull you out and stuff something else in? Do you know what its like to be unmade?" He looked like a puppy, to be honest. A puppy in a lot of pain.

"You know that I do." Natasha poured him a cup of water.

"Why am I back?" He questioned. "How'd you get him out?"

"Cognitive recalibration." She walked over next to him. "I hit you really hard in the head." She sat by his side on the bed.

"Thanks." She gave him a small smile and undid the restrains.

"Natasha… where's Lexi? I remember I was choking her… I was about to…" The look on Lex's face was burned into his mind. She was begging and pleading him to stop. The look on her face would haunt him for the rest of his life. He was about to kill his own flesh and blood and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Don't. Don't do that to yourself, Clint. This is Loki. This is monsters and magic, and nothing we were ever trained for." She wasn't ready to tell him. She couldn't. Lex meant so much to him. She was only thing that mattered to him. Everything was second to Lex when it came to Clint.

"Loki, did he get away?" She was relieved when he moved on to a different subject. She knew Lex would come back up though and she would have no choice but to tell him.

"Yeah. I don't you suppose you know where."

"I didn't need to know." Natasha got up and walked over to the door, looking out of the window. "I didn't ask." Clint sat up and reached for the cup of water Natasha had poured him. "He's gonna make his play soon, though. Today." Clint wished he could be of more help.

"We got to stop him." Natasha turned around to face him.

"Yeah? Who's 'we'?" He had a good idea of who she was talking about, but he was pretty sure after Loki's attacks they would be scattered.

"I don't know, whoever's left."

"Well, if I put an arrow through Loki's eye socket, I'd sleep better I suppose." Just shooting in general would make him feel better, but taking a shot at Loki would be preferable. Loki needed to pay for putting him up against his own sister. He knew the only reason they managed to drag Lex back into this was because of him.

"Now you sound like you." Natasha smiled as she once again took a seat next to him.

"But you don't. You're a spy, not a soldier. Now you want to wade into war. Why?" Something was off about her. She seemed in pain. Not physically, though. Something had happened that he didn't know about. "What did Loki do to you?" He tried to make eye contact with her, but she refused to look at him.

"He didn't. I just… It's Lex, Clint. She…" She couldn't…but she had too.

"What? What's wrong? What happened? Is she okay?" Clint began to freak out. If anything happened to Lex he didn't know what he would do. She didn't want to answer him. "Natasha…"

"She was shot during the raid on the aircraft… she fell overboard… I'm so sorry." The look on his face broke her heart.

"No. I don't believe you. She's can't be dead, she can't be." His eyes begun to water and his chest began to tighten. She can't be gone. "She's all I have!"

"I'm so sorry, Clint. She's... gone."

Clint buried his face in his hand, trying so hard not to cry. "What am I supposed to do, huh? My sister is dead and its all my fault…" Natasha placed a hand on his arm to tried and comfort him, but he just shook it off. "It was my job to protect her… I failed…"

"There was nothing you could have done. There was nothing anyone could've done."

"That's a lie and you know it!" Clint stood, trying to wipe his eyes. He looked at Natasha, pain, anger and heartbreak filling his eyes. "She was out. She was happy working with Stark. She was safe! She didn't want anything to do with S.H.I.E.L.D.! You all dragged her back into this life and because of that she was killed!"

"Clint.."

"No! You used me as leverage! You knew that if you told her I was in trouble she wouldn't hesitate to come back. I should have left with her last year… I should have put this place behind me, but no, I stayed and it cost Alexis her life..."

**XXX**

_"C'mon, Clint. Come with me. Start fresh."_

_"You know I can't, Lexi."_

_"And why not?"_

_"Because with you gone, S.H.I.E.L.D. needs me. They lost one Barton, they can't afford to loose another."_

_Clint and Lex stood out in front of Stark Tower. Today started Lex's new life and new job as Tony Stark's personal assistant. Things wouldn't be the same without Clint around. For the past ten years they were always at each other's side. _

_"Its always been you and me… I don't know anything else." Sure for those years in school she was on her own, but it wasn't like this. Clint would come see her every other week while she was at MIT. Now, he was about to go on a mission that dragged him all the way to New Mexico. She wouldn't see him for quite some time. "You could work security or something." She insisted._

_Clint smiled at his little sister. Yeah he was going to miss Lex and he didn't want her to leave S.H.I.E.L.D., leave him, but he couldn't be selfish. He knew how much she wanted this. He didn't want to hold her back. "Lexi, I would be bored to death. Civilian life isn't for me. S.H.I.E.L.D. is all I know, and the only place I fit in. I love you, but this is your life now, and I know you'll do just fine without me."_

_Lex closed the gap between them and embraced her brother. "I love you too." She pulled away just enough for their blue eyes to meet. "I'm really gonna miss you."_

_"Same here, kiddo." He kissed her forehead. "Now, get up there and give Tony Stark a run for his money."_

_"Just promise you'll stay in contact."_

_"I promise."_

**XXX**

Clint slammed his fist into the wall. The pain in his hand was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. He leaned his forehead against the wall and the tears came without warning. "What do I do now?"

"You go out there and save the world." Natasha said. She got up from her seat and came up next to him. She placed a hand on his back trying to comfort him, hoping he wouldn't push her away this time. To her relief he didn't and she began to rub his back gently. "You gotta go out there with your head up high and kick ass." She reached over and grabbed a towel. She handing it to him so he could clean his now tear stained face.

"Thanks." He stood up tall again and took the much needed towel. He wiped his face. Lex wouldn't want to see him like this. She wouldn't want him to cry over her. He wasn't a little boy, he was a grown man who was one a mission. A mission to avenge his sister.

He headed into the back bathroom to get cleaned up. As he finally finished up, the one and only Captain America walked into the room. "Time to go."

"Go where?" Natasha questioned.

"I'll tell you on the way." They didn't have time. They needed to go now. "Can you fly one of those jets?" He knew she could fly with a co-pilot, but didn't know if she could do it on her own.

"I can." Clint announced, walking in from the back.

Steve looked over the assassin. He had a lot of similar features to Lex. Steve could tell that he was in pain though. They all were. The super solider looked over at Natasha, making sure that Clint was all clear and that he could be trusted once again.

She gave him at nod. "You got a suit?"

"Yeah."

"Then suit up."

**XXX**

Tony took off with the quinjet, but quickly bypassed it. He would be at Stark Tower in half the time. He tried his best not to let his mind wander as he shot over the water.

"Sir, you have an incoming call." Jarvis informed him. Incoming call? Only a handful of people had the direct number to his suit.

"Well, it must be important. Let it through." When the call was excepted there was nothing but silence at first. A few seconds pasted before a familiar voice rung through his helmet. He was so taken back he nearly dropped out of the sky.

_"Hey, Boss."_

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**Yes, I know another cliffhanger. Hate reading them, but they're so much fun to write! lol**

**Again, I LOVE hearing what you guys have to say so don't forget to review or PM me, whichever you prefer! **


	8. Chapter 8

**First off, let me say that I'm sorry for the delay in updating. I've had a shit load of homework this week. I had absolutely not time to write. So I hope this chapter mets the same level as the other ones even though it was kind rushed.**

**Okay, now onwards. Thank you guys for all the alerts and favorites. And thank you _Shades-Soul_, _ZabuzasGirl_, _BookFreak_, _DisneyMagicalDreams_, _Lone Stallion_, _The. Dragon. Singer_, _MME_, _Xxdreamergirl95xX_, _Missing A Muse_, _Erika_, _BadWolfhasRisen_, and _Roma Fawcette_ for the reviews! I have to say i loved reading the reviews for this chapter. Whenever I got one for this chapter I couldn't help but smile when I read them.**

**And btw, _MME_ brought up a good idea. How would you guys feel about an Iron Man 3 squeal with Lex obviously taking Pepper's spot in the movie? Still on the fence about ****this idea so let me know if you would like to see it or not.**

**I hope you guys like this chapter!**

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Two minutes and she would be dead. She closed her eyes. Just feeling the wind rush past her body. She could feel the blood being pulled from the 3 bullet holes. Pain slowly throbbed throughout her body. She turned so that she faced the ground 30,000ft below. She had fallen just as the aircraft carrier flew just over the coast. If Lex was lucky she'd be able to survive the impact into the water, but she had to land just right. If not, it would be like landing on concrete. She had just from a helicopter into the ocean before, but that had only been a 150ft up not 30,000.

She had two minute though. Two minutes before she lived or died. She didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to think about anything. She tried to let her mind go blank, but as she did the pain became worse. That was another thing she had to factor in; would she reach the water before she died from the bullets. Even if she did, it would still be a good mile or so back to shore. Shit. She was so screwed.

_'C'mon, Barton, think of something that doesn't evolve dying.' _

What about her brother? What about Tony?

She knew that Clint would be wrecked over her , she wasn't so sure about. They were literally about to physically fight right there in front of everyone. Did he really mean it when he said he hated her? It sure seemed like it the past day or so, but she knew differently. All those long night working on his suits or his cars said other wise. There was _something _there. She just hadn't a clue as to what it was…or did she?

As the ocean neared, she maneuvered her body so she was feet 's how she was train to jump out of a chopper, hopefully it applied to this situation as well. She slung her bow over across her back so it was with her arrows. She didn't know if they would survive the drop, but she sure hoped they did. She closed her eyes as she broke the surface of the blue landscape. Salt water rushed around her and she drove deep into the waves. The bullet holes burned with unbearable pain. She was paralyzed as it crawl up her torso and down her arms and legs.

Once Lex felt her body discontinue its decent, she began her journey to the surface, whichever way that was. She couldn't tell. It was all blue. She couldn't tell which way was up and which was down. She just swam in straight and prayed it was the right choice. The light shown through the water become brighter and brighter. She picked right.

Halfway to her destination, her lungs started to burn. She still had a fair amount of water to surpass before she reached air. She focused on the burning in her lower left abdomen instead.

A couple more yards…almost there…

Lex burst through the blue wall and gasped for air allowing the burning in her lungs to subside. As she caught her breath she looked for shore. It was a good mile away. Great. Lew was in phenomenal shape, but swimming a mile with 3 bullet hole in her was not something she would enjoying enduring.

40 grueling minutes later she stumbled into the sand. She would have made a better time if she wasn't bleeding out into the ocean. Dragging herself up the beach, she reached one of those showers where she rinse all the sand from her body and out of her wounds, quiver and off her bow. Survive the drop, check. Make it to shore, check. Next on the list was live through her injuries.

Lex watched as taxi pulled up a few feet away. A young man dress in bean attire readied himself to enter the cab. "Hey! You!" His head snapped up and he locked eye with her. His pupils began to dilate. He was freaked out. Who wouldn't be? She was dressed in all her gear, bow in hand and gun at her hip. He went to grab his stuff and scramble into the yellow car, but Lex was much faster then he was. She pulled a bow out of her wet quiver and shot it in a matter of seconds. The arrow went through the loss fabric of his swimsuit and into the metal of the taxi. Lex walked up smugly to the car and the now frightened man who was struggling to pull thte arrow lose. "This could have gone so much better."

He didn't say anything, his brown eyes wide and locked on her. She felt a pang in her heart as she was reminded of Tony's beautiful brown eyes. She shook the thought away and focus back on the man in front of her. She wrapped her hand around the arrow and yanked it from the taxi setting the man free. "Scram." Lex certainly didn't need to say it twice. The man took off running. She forced herself not to laugh. Laughing would be cruel right?

Returning the bow back to its place in her quiver, she climbed into the cab. "Where to?" The drive asked blatantly, oblivious to the events that happened outside.

"The nearest hospital."

"Will do."

Lex sat back as he pulled away from the beach. She came to a realization that she had absolute no idea where she was. "Um… what state am I in?"

The driver chucked and glanced at her via rear view mirror. "Rough night?"

"Something like that."

"New Jersey."

**XXX**

The cab dropped Lex off at the Bayshore Community Hospital emergency room free of charge. It may have been the fact that he was really nice or that he saw that he was armed with a bow and 9mm hand gun. The whole way to the hospital Lex could feel the blood leaving her body. The constant pressure she kept on her wounds didn't stop the blood flow.

Now you'd think Lex you go INTO the emergency room and seek help, but no. She slowly made her way over to one of the parked ambulances. As quickly as possible, she opened the doors and pulled herself into the back of the emergency vehicle. She closed the door and got to work.

She rummaged through all of the medical equipment looking for just the basics; tweezers, a few towels, gauze, cotton balls, something to disinfect her wounds, and stitches. She found the first 5 with no problem, but it took her some digging to find the last.

Lex pulled her skin tight shirt up slightly and grabbed a towel and took grip of it between her teeth. She then disinfected the tweezers and started fishing for the first of the three bullets. She had to painfully feel her way through her abdomen. After ten minutes she grabbed the first one, placing it next to her. Another ten and she grabbed the second. The last one took her longer to get a hold of, but she finally managed to pluck it out after 20 excruciating minutes. Next came the disinfecting. Once she was done with that she moved to the stitching portion of her medical mission. Lex grabbed the needle and stitches and started on again on the first bullet hole. Stitching was easy, painful, but easy. She finished all three in about 25 minutes. Last, but not least, she covers her new stitches in gauze.

She gingerly pulled her shirt back down and took a look out of the ambulance window. There were a few people here and there, but most were inside. She opened the door and slipped out of the emergency vehicle. She tried to look a casual as possibly, but that was pretty hard seeing that she was suited up. Most people minded their own business though, only a few looking her way. As she walked past a man, no more than 20 years of age, she pick pocketed his phone without his notice. It was an old flip phone, so no password to worry about.

She off walked a bit so she was well in front of the emergency room. She needed to get back to the team. She flipped opened the outdated phone and dialed a number that she knew by heart. A number that knew would get her help.

Once the second ring she heard the heard the line open. "Hey, boss."

**XXX**

"Lex? I…We thought you were dead!" Tony freaked, his eyes watering at the sound of her voice. She was alive. He hadn't lost her. Tony felt the weight on his heart lift.

_"Well, sorry to disappoint." _Disappoint? Hearing her voice was possibly the best thing he had ever heard.

"Where the hell are you?" He didn't want to go into detail. At least not until they were face to face.

_"Bayshore Community Hospital emergency room in New Jersey. I could use a lift."_

"See you in 2." Tony instantly changed course and headed for his thought lost best friend.

**XXX**

Lex snapped the phone shut, a smile firmly planted on her face. It wasn't because of the fact that Tony was coming. No, it was what he said. He called her Lex for the first time since he found out she worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. Did being under the false pretense that she was dead make him rethink his harsh words? She sure hoped so.

Lex turned as she heard the familiar sound of thrusters. Her smile slowly faded at the battered suit. What happened to it? Tony landed clumsily in from of her, quickly regaining his balance. His helmet melted into the rest of his suit, reveiling his face. His eyes, brimmed with tears, showed happiness and relief. He had a smile on his face, the type of legit smile that took a lot to get out go him

"I…" He wasn't sure what to say. All thing passed between them the past day or so had been hurtful and cruel. He didn't know what to say to make up for that. It was all his fault really, the fighting. Excepting her past should have been something he should have done instantly. He was wrong for saying what he did to her.

Lex didn't wait for him to come up with something to say because she knew he would. She knew Tony Stark was not one to talk about his feeling. So, she threw he arms around his neck and embraced him, resting her head on his metal shoulder. The cold metal felt good against her wounds. Tony returned the gesture by wrapping his arms firmly around her waist, making sure she was as close as possible. He never wanted to let her go.

The metal against her skin was cold to the touch, but warm in meaning. "I should have told you-."

"No. You had your reasons. I was just a dick who though he knew everything. You didn't want anything to do with S.H.I.E.L.D.. You wanted to start new and you found that with me. Being from S.H.I.E.L.D. shouldn't change that. It doesn't change that. You are and will always be my best friend. No one gets me like you, not even Pepper. She did to a certain degree, but you have surpassed that by a hell of a lot more." Lex pulled away from him slightly, just enough to see his face. Her hands remained around his neck and his on her waist.

"I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted you to see me for me. You're one of the few people in the world that means anything to me. One of the very few I trust with my life. I would have told you eventually. I think…" Opening up really wasn't her thing, but when it came to Tony, she did a lot of things she usually wouldn't do.

"You think?" He teased. He raised an eyebrow in question. He smiled as she giggled. "Just promises me no more secrets, okay?"

"No more secrets," She repeated in conformation. There was a few seconds of silence before Tony spoke up.

"There's something I never told you. I was never planning on telling you." He confessed. He might as well get it out there. He didn't have a lot of 'deep' moments so he figured now or never.

"Huh?" Tony told her everything. He really did. He may not go in depth and in detail all the time, but he always mentioned anything on his mind.

"Remember when me and Pepper broke up? I told you she broke up with me." Lex slowly nodded. She was clearly still confused as to where this conversation was going because they obviously had more important things to do. "Well, that was a lie." He smirked as her right eyebrow went up stating her confusion and curiosity, just as his did earlier. "I was the one who broke things off."

"What! Why would you do that? You guys were-"

"She wasn't the one," He simply stated. Lex just stared at him wide eyed. She thought they were a great couple. They were always so cute together. Total opposites. It was so entraining to watch them.

"And how do you know that?" She always like them together no matter her feelings towards the billionaire. They were great together. Sure there were areas in each other lives where the other didn't really fit, but that happened with every couple. Pepper always put Tony first, that was clearly obvious. But now that she thought about it, Tony didn't always put Pepper first. Lex spent more time with Tony this past year then Pepper did.

"Because I found her. She was one of the smartest women I've ever met, beautiful, could easily match my sarcasm, put up with my shit, and put me in my place," Tony took hold of one of her hand with his metal ones and looked down at the ground. He really wish he wasn't in this damn suit now. "I almost lost her though. I couldn't see past one of her…quirks and I almost pushed her away completely. As a matter of fact, I thought she had died thinking that I hated her. I would have never been able to live with myself…"

"Did you ever tell her how you felt?" Lex asked. She knew exactly what Tony was doing, but she didn't call him out on it. She played along. She knew he was talking about her.

"No. I'm Tony Stark, I don't fall for people. I'm just a man in a metal suit playing the hero," He smirked as he quoted her. He looked back up at her and met her blue eyes with his brown. "I wasn't ready to take the risk of losing her. Which now that I think of it, is kinda ironic."

"Ever take into consideration that she could feel the same way?" She smiled at him as his face brightened.

Unfortunately, their moment was interrupted by Captain America. _"Stark, you there yet?" _

"Just about," He replied. Tony tightened his gripped on Lex and shot off into the sky, his helmet now inclosing his face. Tony felt Lex's body tighten up.

"I'm going to fucking kill you for that one." She yelled over the wind.

"Let's worry about saving the world first."

* * *

**I hope the ending to this chapter better then the two before lol**

**Like said, some of this chapter was kinda rushed cuz I wanted to get up cuz I felt bad for ****not updating. I hope its still ok and I hope you guys still liked it.**

**Remember to leave me a review so you can let me know what you think! Or PM me!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Its been longer than usually so I apologize for that. Like I've said, school is definitely keeping me busy so updates may not come as ****often as they did in the past. Instead of twice per week it'll probably be once. I wish I wasn't so busy, but that's what high school does.**

**Anyways, thank you guys for all the favorites and alerts! And thank you _AnimeWriterFreak_, _ShadesSoul_, _BookFreak_, _Xxdreamgirl95xX_, _MME_, _Erika_, _Sunshine_, _Audrey Whyte_, and _Missing A Muse_ for the reviews! Again, i'm loving reading these review! Keep 'em coming!**

**PS: I put a poll up on my profile about the Iron Man 3 sequel. So head over there and check it out. Its either yes or no. I'm leaning more towards yes, but I still want your input, like always!**

* * *

"You really should have let me take a look at it when I offered," Lex's gripped on Tony tightened as one of the trusters began to sputter again. She already took one fall out of the sky that day, she didn't need another.

"Oh stop complaining. I could have just left you in Jersey." Tony retorted as they flew over New York.

"Ha you wish. You couldn't leave me behind even if you tried," She knew she was right. He couldn't leave her behind and she couldn't leave him.

"Unfortunately…"

"I'd be carful how you finish that sentence, Stark," He chuckled at her response.

"Unfortunately, I'd be lost without you." She was glad Tony couldn't see her face currently as heat began to rise to her cheeks. Was she blushing? No way in hell. Lex Barton does not blush.

"Nice save." She felt his arm around her waist tighten as they approached the Stark Tower.

_"Sir, I've turned off the arc reactor, but the device is already self-sustaining." _Jarvis informed them. Tony came to a stop just off the rooftop where the Tesseract was located. Lex was in one arm and he had the other free.

"Shut it down, Dr. Selvig," Lex demanded. She had met the doctor once before. Just once. But from that one meeting she knew he was a good man. Maybe he could over power Loki's control on him.

"It's too late!" He yelled back in response. "She can't stop now," He turned to look at the Tesseract in a hypnotized fascination. "She wants to show us something! A new universe."

"Okay." Tony lifted his hand to blast the Tesseract.

"Tony, don't!" Lex warned, but it was too late. As the blast neared the Tesseract it was deflected by some sort of forcefield. Dr. Selvig was thrown to the side like a rage doll and the blast came right back at Tony and Lex, sending them flying backwards. Tony for a spilt second lost his grip on Lex and she nearly slipped out of his grasp. He caught her at the last moment.

"You almost fucking dropped me!" Lex clung to Tony once he had his metal incased arms back around her.

"No I didn't-"

"Anthony Stark!"

"Sorry."

_"The barrier is pure energy. Its unbreachable." _Jarvis chimed in_._

"Yeah, I think we got that." Lex knew that before Tony even took a go at it.

"Plan B." Lex looked at him confusedly. She followed focus and found Loki at the other end of it. Tony began to lower onto his landing pad. She knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Tony, the Mark 7 isn't ready to be worked yet." They had just finished it before they left for S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Sure, it could function and preform, but they hadn't tested it fully.

"Skip the spinning rims. We're on the clock." Tony spoke directly to Jarvis, ignoring Lex's comment about the Mark 7.

Once Tony's feet hit the ground he released Lex and she quickly move out of the way as Tony began to be stripped of his suit. She walked a few steps behind him and off to the side. She readied an arrow as she watched Tony and Loki have a stare off. As she walked into the loft behind Tony, Loki spoke. "Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity."

"Actually, I'm planning on threatening you."

"You should have left your armor on for that."

Yeah, but I have her so…" Tony looked over at Lex who had an arrow aimed straight at Loki. "Would you like drink?" Tony asked as he approached his in house bar. Lex bypassed the bar, moving in front of it and off to the right side. She didn't want to be directly in front of Tony, but she wanted to be close enough so if things went south she could jump in as quick as possible.

"Stalling won't change anything." Lex listened to Loki as he spoke. His accent was charming, something she didn't notice too much of before. He held himself up tall and it was easy to see that he was over confident. It reminded her somewhat of Tony.

"No, no. Threatening," Tony picked a communication device off the counter and tossed it to Lex. Since her's was long gone in the ocean she would need it. She caught it gracefully and inserted it into her ear. She immediately went back up into a defensive position, aiming her bow once agin at Loki. "Relax, Lex." As much as she would rather not, she did as Tony said and lowered her bow, but still keeping the arrow ready. "No drink? You sure? Lex you want one?" She shook her head, keeping her eyes on Loki. She made the mistake of taking her eyes off her target once already that day and it didn't end well. "I'm having one."

Loki walked over to the glass wall. He looked over all of New York City. "The Chitauri are coming. Nothing will change that," Loki turned to face them. "What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers," Lex stated bluntly. Loki took interest as he walked slightly closer.

"At least that's what we call ourselves," Tony said as he poured a glass of scotch. "We're sorta like a team. Earth's 'mightiest heroes'- type thing."

"Yes, I've met them," Loki looked over at Lex and then back to Tony.

Tony chuckled. "Yeah. Its takes us a while to get any traction-"

"Quite a while." Lex chimed in.

"But lets do a head count, here. Your brother, the demigod," Loki physically cringed at the mention of his brother. Lex didn't understand how Loki could feel like that about his brother. She couldn't imagine being that way with Clint. "A super solider, a living legion," Tony took hold of one of the two silver bracelet like devices on the counter and put it on his wrist. "Who kind of lives up to the legend. A man with breathtaking anger-management issues, a couple of master assassins," Tony glanced over at Lex who was staring hole through Loki. Tony slipped the other bracelet on. "and you, big fella, have managed to piss off every single one of them."

"That was the plan."

"You come up with some pretty stupid plans then," Loki locked eyes with Lex as she spoke.

"Yeah, not a great plan," Tony agreed. Loki shifted his attention back to Tony. "When they come," Tony started. He walked out from behind the bar and closer to Lex on her left side, drink in hand

"And they will come," Lex added. Tony didn't mind because her comments always flowed with his.

"They'll come for you," Tony finished.

"I have an army."

Lex scoffed. "We have a hulk." Tony smirked.

"I thought the beast had wandered off." Loki said, bring up the fact that he had succeed in his plan on the airship.

"You're missing the point. There is no throne. There is no version of this where you come out on top," Tony stepped closer to Loki as did Lex. "Maybe your army comes and maybe it's to much for us, but its all on you," Tony paused. "Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it." Tony took a sip from his drink as Loki stepped closer. Lex raised her bow just the slightest bit. Her main objective right now was to protect Tony.

"How will your friends have time for me when they're so busy fighting you?" Loki raised his staff to Tony's chest, but before he could make contact, Lex raised her bow with unbelievable speed and went to take a shot at Loki, but Loki was faster. He shot Lex with a blast of energy that sent her through the glass and down the side of Stark Tower. Tony stiffened. He didn't know what to do. She would survive, right? She survived the last one. He knew no matter what he did he couldn't save her and that broke his heart. He focused on trying to remained unfazed and faced Loki.

This time, Loki connected his staff with Tony's chest or what he thought to be. The staff made a _ding _sound as it made contact with the arc reactor. Nothing happened. Loki looked confused and tried it once more. _Ding. _Still nothing. "This usually works."

"Well, performance issues isn't not uncommon. One out of five…" Tony's air supply was cut off as Loki wrapped his hand around his throat. Loki threw Tony to the side. "Jarvis, anytime now," Tony said as he tried to recover. As Tony got to his feet, Loki grabbed him by the throat once again.

"You will all fall before me," Loki growled seconds before he launched Tony out of the very same window Lex had gone through.

"Deploy…Deploy!" Tony yelped as he went through the opening in the glass wall and began to free fall. At first he tumbled towards the ground awkwardly, but eventually steadied himself. As the ground grew closer and closer red beams connected to his brackets. Seconds later he was being enveloped in his Mark 7 Iron Man suit.

As Lex broke through the glass wall, she felt all the air leave her body, the wind getting knocked out of her. She reacted just as she did when she fell off the carrier. She quickly rotated her quiver so she was presented with an arrow that had a grappling hook at the tip. Hopefully this one was more successful than the last. She shot the arrow, it thankfully latching onto a balcony. Lex swung through yet another glass wall of Stark Tower and tumbled through the broken glass. She felt a searing pain in her abdomen along with the stinging of small newly acquired cuts on her arms as she sat up . Lifting up her shirt revealed that she had popped the stitches of one of the bullet holes. "Great. Just Great."

Lex's head snapped to the right as she saw Tony free fall past the open hole in the glass. A gold and red colored pod flew after him at twice the speed. The Mark 7. Seconds later she heard Tony through her new earpiece. _"Lex? You okay?"_ She could hear the panic in his voice.

"I'm good. I just really need to stop doing that…"

_"Doing what? Falling off sky scrapers and aircraft carriers?" _She saw Tony shoot up past her in his suit back up to the top floor.

"I'm gonna head down to the street," Lex informed him, ignoring his comment. Lex found the nearest staircase — which didn't take long because she knew this building like the back of her hand — and took the stairs down two at a time. By the time she reached to the lobby the Chintauri had began to swarm from a hole in the sky created by the Tesseract. Tony was taking them on by himself. The Chitauri swept the streets of New York as they bypassed him, taking out cars and creating craters in the middle of streets. It was like one of those scene you only ever see in the movies.

Unlike every other civialian on the street, Lex ran from cover and headed to the center of the road. She watched as the 'K' fell from the Stark Tower. Tony flew over her as did the Chintauri on his tail. She took aim at one that was gaining on him. It dropped out of the sky, but was soon replaced by another one. She didn't see how they would make it out of this one. They, as Fury had put it earlier, were hilariously out gunned and out numbered.

_"Stark, we're on your three, headed northeast," _Both Tony and Lex heard Natasha's voice sound through the communication line.

_"What? Did you stop for drive-through?" _Tony barked. He wasn't trying to be rude, not at all. Everyone else would take it that way, but Lex knew otherwise. She knew he was scared, terrified. Tony always knew what he was dealing with at all times. He was comfortable with that and that was how he liked it. The unknown was probably his greatest fear. _"Swing up Park. I'm gonna lay 'em out for you."_

Lex didn't know what to do. She didn't know where to go or where to stand. She knew her arrows would make very little difference against the growing alien army. She made her way to Park avenue on foot, sprinting all the way there. Once she got there she saw the quinjet take out most of the Chitauri that Tony had baited there. One still remained in the air, but Lex took it out quickly.

_"Sir, we have more incoming." _Jarvis informed Tony.

_"Fine, then lets keep 'em occupied." _

The jet then disappeared from Lex's sight and so did Tony and the Chitauri that continued to tail him.

Clint looked over at Natasha briefly as they approached Stark Tower. "Nat?"

"I see him," She said in reference to Loki. With that Clint turned the quinjet and open fired on Loki. Unfortunately, Loki was unfazed and shot a beam from his scepter straight at the jet, taking out its left wing. Clint tried to keep control over the jet, but the odds just weren't working in his favor. Steve clung to a pole on the ceiling, trying his best not to be battered around the rapidly decending jet. They crashed and tumbled into building after building. Clint tried to keep it in the air as long as he could, just so he could find a safe place to land…er crash. He found a spacious concret area with little to no people near or around it. They probably didn't wanted be out in the open so they had run for cover. The three braced themselves for the the touch down.

_"Lex, the jet is down. It landed about 3 blocks west from where you are. Romanoff, Rogers and your brother were in it." _Tony informed her and her only.

"I'm on in," Lex, once again, took off running. Her wounds burned, but she didn't care. There were more important things at hand than her wellbeing. Not only were Steve and Natasha in the quinjet, but also Clint. He was back to himself if he was with them. He was her brother again. Not Loki's lackey that tried to kill her. She could see the smoke from the jet bled in with the destruction around it. She was just a block away when she saw the cargo door slowly open. Half a block away now. She saw Steve jog out and then came Natasha and last, but certainly not least came Clint. Once she saw him, a grin spread across her face from ear to ear. Her speed picked up and so did the pain in her side.

"Clint!"

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**Writing action really isn't my forte, but I tried lol.**

**I really hope you guys liked this chapter! **

**Remember to leave me a review so you can let me know what you think! Or PM me!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Im sooooooooo sorry its taken so long to get this chapter up. I just haven't had anytime to write. I would write some here and there, but it was never enough to finish the chapter as soon as I hoped it would.**

**But hey, this ****story finally made it to its 10th chapter! I must say this is my most popular story yet and i'm very proud of it. I hope you guys have loved reading it just as much as I have writing it. There are still some chapters to go though so don't worry lol.**

**I want to thank you all for the the alerts and favorites! Also, thank you _Shades-Soul_, _LoneStallion_, _Sydney Elizabeth_,_ Irrelevant86_, _Audrey Whyte_, _ShikaKibaShinoGal_, and _The. Dragon. Singer_ for the reviews!**

**PS: In this chapter obviously we have Lex reuniting with her brother and the rest of the team. Now the reason I'm writing this is to make something clear; if it seems rushed, thats because it is. I wrote it that way because if you've forgotten, the word is pretty much ending around them. They don't have time to get into details and all that sappy stuff. ****I also wanted to show you that Lex and Clint are like any other brother and sister. They could be super happy to see each other one moment and then get mad at something the next.**

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Clint looked into the direction of which his name was called. He was clearly confused as you could see it plastered all over his face. He continued to look until he found the source. He almost fell to his knees as he was hit with a wall of emotion. There she was. Just a mere 50 feet away and getting closer with every step.

"Lexi?" Steve and Natasha turned to face Clint. As they did Lex came barreling into Clint, nearly knocking him clear off his feet. The siblings both clung to each other like their lives were depended on it.

"Nat told me you were dead!" Clint choked as he buried his face in her shoulder. He couldn't believe she was here. He thought she was gone forever. He thought he would never see her again…

"I know. I'm so sorry," She didn't know what else to say. She couldn't imagine the pain he'd been in.

"How are you even here?" He pulled away and took her face in his hands, resting his forehead against her's. "I don't know what I would have done…" His eyes started to water. She gripped his wrists.

"Hey, I'm alive. No need to think about that," His eyes were closed now. She could see tears slowly making their way down his face. Clint rarely ever cried, but when he did it broke her heart. "You know you can't get rid of me that easily, right?" Lex gave a small smile. It disappeared as quick as it had appeared as a wave of pain coursed through her body. The longer she stood still the more it hurt.

He smirked and opened his eyes. His smirk faded as he saw her face. "She said you had been shot too…" Clint released her face and looked down at her midsection. There were 3 holes in her skintight shirt.

He went to lift her shirt slightly to see the damage, but Lex shrugged away. "Clint…don't," She knew if he saw the bullet wounds he would worried about her and they didn't need that right now.

"Alexis Barton," He said sternly. She sighed and let him lift her shirt. He lifted it just past the highest bullet hole. The one that had popped the stitches was bleeding slightly. "Lexi, you shouldn't even be out here right now. You need to get checked out. I know you did that stitch job yourself," And that's what she was afraid of.

"Not gonna happen, bro," She pulled her shirt down. "We have bigger fish to fry." Her blue eyes connected with his and they just stared straight through each other, having a whole conversation with one look.

"We don't have a choice, Agent Barton. We need her out there," Steve took a few steps forward, but still kept his distance from the two.

"I thought I lost her once and I'm not going through that again! It's not going to happen," Clint growled at the super solider.

"What makes this different from any other mission we've ever been on, huh? Remember when you were stabbed in Spain, but you forced me to let you keep going? This is no different," Lex continued to keep eye contact with her sibling.

Clint looked over at Natasha who gave him a small nod. "Fine. Lets go," He wasn't happy with the decision, but there was nothing he could do. She was just as stubborn as him. "Be careful."

"Always am," She smiled at him as he walked by. Natasha smiled at Lex as she followed Clint. Lex's attention shifted from her fellow assassins to the super solider in front of her. "Thanks for backing me up."

Steve slowly nodded. Something was off with him. "Back during the war, me and my best friend, Bucky, were raiding a train. We were trying to get our hands on this scientist. We were being shot at with HYDRA weapons and a hole was blown in the side of the train. Bucky picked up my shield and was blasted with one of the guns. He was sucked out to the outside of the train. We were over a drop and he was just barley hanging on. I reached out to grab him, but… the bar that he was hanging onto broke and I watched as he fell to his death," Steve was looking at the down at the cement. "You were the first person that I felt comfortable with in this time. My first legitimate friend and I watched you fall just as he did. There being nothing I could to save you…" He looked up at her with hurt filled eyes. No one realized how effected he was by her supposed death.

"Steve…" Lex gave him a sad smile. She wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing the solider. He hugged her back whole heartedly. After a few moments, he stepped back from her and smiled.

"We better get going," With that they trotted off after their other team members.

Once they caught up to Clint and Natasha, their eyes wandered to the hole in the sky. Another wave of Chitauri were filtering through, along with this… enormous creature. Clint saw it was a weird whale like Chitauri. It certainly looked like it swam through the sky as a whale would the ocean. As it 'swam' past them, another rank of Chitauri dismounted from the creature. They latched themselves to the building and broke through the glass, starting their rein of terror on the people inside.

"Stark, you seeing this?" Steve asked.

_"Seeing, still working on believing," _Tony flew a good distance away from the creature as it flew through New York. _"Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"_

"Banner?"

_"Just keep me posted."_

The new wave of Chitauri open fired on the streets forcing Steve, Clint, Natasha and Lex to take cover up against an abandoned taxi.

"We've got civilians trapped up here," Clint said. As Clint spoke, a Chitauri cruiser rushed past by them, catching their attention.

"Loki," Steve huffed. "They're fish in a barrel down there."

He was right. Those who still remained on street level with no where to go ran in panic. They needed to do something. But what? Before they could hatch up a plan Natasha shot up and fired several rounds into the Chitauri that now lined themselves up in front them. Clint moved to take cover up against a different taxi. Natasha stayed put and so did Lex.

"We got this. Go," Lex encouraged Steve. She'd never known a situation where she, her brother and Natasha couldn't hold their own.

"Do you think you can hold them off?" He questioned. It wasn't because he didn't have faith in the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. He trusted them with his life up to this point. He had too. He just didn't trust the situation and the fact that they were out numbered.

"Captain," Clint shifted his arrow tips in his quiver. "It would be my genuine pleasure."

Steve looked back at Lex one last time. She gave him a confident nod and he was off, leaping over the side of the bridge they were currently on. The three assassins jumped into action wasting no time. Natasha open fired on the aliens as did the Barton siblings with there arrows.

"Clint, the bus. There's people in there," Lex pointed out. "I'll cover you. Get them out."

Clint nodded and jogged over to the bus. Clint noticed a father trying to get his son out of one of the broke windows. "Hand him to me."

The man clearly looked hesitant. Anyone would if a man in a sleeveless blank and purple uniform with a bow and quiver full of arrows strapped to his back asked you to hand them your child. Realizing he had no choice, he ushered his son out of the window and into Clint's arms.

Lex sent an arrow through a Chitauri forehead as it tried to make its way over to the bus. Once it dropped, she took a glade over at Clint who was helping a young boy out of the window. The sight cause her to smile. She didn't know why exactly, but it did. Maybe it was the fact that she was just glad that she had her brother back. Glad that he wasn't trying to kill her on the top of a German research building.

Clint moved from the window to a jammed door. He opened it with no problem. He watched as the people rushed out, trying to find cover. He then took a quick look over at Lex who was holding her own against two Chitauri. She moved with such accuracy and grace that it just amazed him. He missed watching her kick ass. He missed having her around in general. They needed to speed some quality time together that didn't involve killing or severely injuring someone.

Clint readied his bow and took out a Chitauri that was getting a little to close to Lex. He made his way quickly to her side behind a taxi as he continued shooting. "I'm sorry by the way," he raised his voice slightly so she could hear him over all the chaos. He continued to take aim a the foreign creatures as did Lex.

"For what?"

"Almost killing you."

"Nah, it wasn't you're fault. You didn't know what you were doing," Lex ducked as a Chitauri sent a blast from its staff towards her.

"You're definitely get slow though. If Stark hadn't shown up-" Clint took another shot at an approaching Chitauri.

"I am not getting slow! I just didn't want to hurt you…"

"Sureee."

"Are you two serious?" Natasha interrupted. "You're really having this conversation right now?" This was really nothing new to her because she was around the sibling for so long.

Lex smirked and leaped over the taxi, taking on the Chitauri at close quarter combat. She didn't want to waste all of her arrows just shooting behind a flipped taxi. Clint and Natasha joined her right away. They were all charged at, each of them taking down the aliens in different ways. Clint ducked down and took out its legs, then stabbing it in the face with and arrow. Lex slid under the one coming at her and waited for it to turn. Once it did she dropped kicked it and did the same as Clint, put an arrow in its forehead. Natasha other hand, leaped up onto a Chitauri's shoulders, pulling wiry veins out of its neck.

Clint was tackled by another charging Chitauri. Lex went to take a shot at it, but her focus was forced to shift to the Chitauri that was currently challenging her. Clint soon got the better of the forgien creature and turned to take out the one that was on top of Lex

The three continued to fight, but the numbers of their opposing force continued to go. Soon they would be overwhelmed and would have to withdraw from the battle ground. Just as they began to be crowded by a deadly alien wall, Steve jumped in, literally, and knocked them all aside with a powerful swing from his patriotic shield. Now that they had room to breath, the two archers resorted back to their arrows and Natasha her bullets. The crowd around them began to grow as more Chitauri swarmed them, but they soon all dropped dead as Thor swept down and sent a wave of lightning through their bodies.

Thor stumbled slightly when he landed due to his previous battle with is brother. "What's the story upstairs?" Steve asked him as he and the three assassins approached the god. Clint continued to look around, checking for Chitauri, but for now they seemed in the clear.

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable," Thor huffed in reply.

"Thor's right. We got to deal with these guys," Lex commented as she remembered Tony's attempt to destroy the cube.

"How do we do this?" Natasha questioned.

"As a team."

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**Not sure when the next one is gonna be up, but hopefully soon.**

**Thank you guys for reading! I hope you liked this chapter! Remember to let me know what you think about it! PM me or leave a review! =)**


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